Stages of Growth
by Twidmo
Summary: Sequel to Take Me As I Am, from Christopher's point of view. It picks up before TMAIA ends - if you haven't read that you should read it first! Mostly Canon, Canon pairings. This is a TWILIGHT FAN FICTION ENDEAVOR. I do NOT own Twilight. Rated MA FOR LANGUAGE, LEMONS, etc, etc.
1. Prologue

Prologue. Christopher's Version.

I was losing it. It was taking every ounce of strength I had not to break down. _Get it together, Christopher, god damn it_, I thought to myself as I leaned my head on her shoulder. I knew something was wrong earlier, but Edward wouldn't discuss it without Alice and Carlisle. I knew it was bad then.

I knew I would lose her.

I saw the grim expression on Edward's face as we ran into the forest to meet them. I was shaking as I slowed to a stop in front of my father-in-law.

"Tell me," I gasped. I could see that he was struggling to control his expression – that alone terrified me. Carlisle was never shaken, he could project calm and confidence like no one I'd ever known before, but even he looked like he might break down at this moment. The fraction of a second that passed before he spoke was hell as I gave in to morbid speculation over what he would say.

"_Christopher, she's going to die,"_ I imagined he would tell me. _"I'm sorry son. There's nothing I can do, you will lose them both." _ I swallowed. I couldn't take the silence anymore.

"Carlisle, Alice, please. What is going on?" I implored them, my voice breaking.

Carlisle put his hand on my shoulder. "Chris, she's going to be okay. But Alice sees it a little differently now. There's some unknown complication that's going to change the outcome."

I didn't understand. "Change it how? The baby?"

"He will be fine, Chris."

"What happens to her, Carlisle?" I ran both of my hands through my hair, my eyes darting frantically back and forth, resting briefly on each of their faces before I squeezed them shut. I played back his words in my head, change the outcome. Change. I swallowed, as I understood the significance of the word.

"Oh god," I gasped. "You're going to have to change _her_." I didn't have to open my eyes to know that I was right, but I needed to hear it from him anyway. "NO," I roared, pushing off Carlisle's hand. "WHY? Will that even work? What if your theory about the venom doesn't work to that extent for her? Is there no other way?" I fired my questions angrily, my brain refusing to believe that this was happening.

Alice stepped forward and put her hands on my shoulders now. She had to stand on the tips of her toes to reach. I opened my eyes and looked down at her. "Chris," she breathed. "I've looked at every possibility we can think of. Even delivering the baby today seems like it ends the same way, but it's hard to see that clearly without Ellie's input. At least, I think so."

"You THINK?" I roared. "Don't you think we should be a little more SURE than that Alice?!"

I yelled at her, at all of them. I was furious now – at Alice and Carlisle, for letting us think that she could handle a pregnancy, and of course at myself for putting her in that state in the first place. "You SAID she would be okay Alice." I raged at them for several minutes, pacing and trembling with terror. For every curse I spat at my family in that moment, I reserved that much and more for myself. I wanted to go back to her. I needed her. I felt like I couldn't breathe without her now, but when I tried to slip past them to run back to her, Carlisle or Edward stopped me. They wouldn't let me see her in this state, I realized.

Somewhere in the depths of my mind, where rational thought still struggled to prevail, it occurred to me that they knew I would lose it and they wanted me to do that away from her. I was on my knees then, Carlisle beside me with his hand again on my shoulder. I was vaguely aware of Alice as she crouched down to face me, placing her tiny hand in mine.

"Chris," she said. "We need to get back. You need to hold it together now." I nodded numbly and stood, steeling myself for the most impossible conversation I've ever faced.


	2. Heaven and Hell

Chapter 1. Heaven and Hell.

I could feel Ellie trembling as I leaned on her, unable to stop my own body from shaking. I clung to what little composure I had left as my wife processed the news of her fate, her impending death.

She murmured something and stood abruptly, and I was on my feet beside her automatically. I let her lead me from Carlisle's office to the car, and I sucked in a breath as she walked around to the driver's side.

"Where are we going?"

"Home," she answered, her eyes blazing.

"Do you want me to drive?" I had to suppress a laugh at my own question though, I wasn't sure I was even capable at the moment. I watched her anxiously as she tore through the streets. "Ellie, Take it easy, love," I said, my voice rough. I reached out to touch her hand. Her warmth calmed me. I needed to be strong now; I needed her to believe that _she_ was strong. "It will be okay."

"Will it?!" she spat, tears staining her cheeks now.

"Eleanor, pull over."

She stared straight ahead, blinking her eyes clear, ignoring my request.

"Ellie," I said sternly. "Please, pull over." I held my breath until she finally relented, bringing the car to a rough stop on the side of the highway. Exhaling slowly, I watched her with her head back, waiting for her to break down. I was momentarily shocked when she suddenly burst out laughing.

"Ellie, it's really not funny-" I started to say as I watched her incredulously before succumbing to her laughter myself. It was better than the alternative. The sound of her laughing drew me closer; before I could stop myself I took her face in my hands and pressed my mouth to hers. Her lips moved against mine furiously, and I was oblivious to everything but the energy passing between us now. I didn't notice her struggling to pull back at first, until she was shoving me away with both her hands.

"What?" My hands stayed on her face, my thumb running over her lips.

"Cop," she said simply and I grumbled to myself as I slumped back in the passenger seat. I fixed a friendly expression on my face as she explained that we had pulled over so I could take over driving. I watched as the officer opened her door and held his hand out, seething irrationally as he touched her. Walking as quickly as I could while still maintaining a human-like pace, I met Ellie and her stand-in escort halfway around the front of the car. She smirked at me slightly, seeing my reaction to this exchange in my mind.

As we continued our way back into the city, I stole glances at her every few seconds, trying to decipher what was going through _her_ mind. I'd never before been envious of her ability to read minds – she almost always told me what she was thinking with little or no prompting – but at this moment I would have given almost anything to know what her thoughts were. My chest was cracking open as I imagined how terrified she must be. She didn't overtly betray her fear, but I could see the way her eyes were open just a little too wide, her mouth too straight. She was scared, and she didn't want me to see it. Of course, I reasoned to myself, she would know that I had seen it; because of course she could hear my internal musing. She didn't say anything about it.

I remembered once Edward had asked me how that worked between us, her mind-reading ability, and whether it ever drove me crazy. I answered him honestly - it was rarely ever an issue. With the exception of my colossal error in judgment (errors, really) that occurred during our brief stint at Dartmouth, I rarely held anything of significance back. And if there was something that I didn't want to burden her with, I was fairly adept now at not thinking about it in her presence. Truth be told, there was nothing that I didn't want her to know, and she recognized when there was something on my mind that I would need to talk about, but knew when I needed her to wait for me to say it out loud. She could pick anything from my head and I wouldn't mind.

As we got closer to the city, she turned her head away from me, looking out her window. "Ellie?"

"Yeah?" she answered me absently, not bothering to look back at me.

"Listen," I began, inhaling through my nose, knowing that what I had to say what going to make everything we were now facing that much more real. "I need to bring something in when we get to the house. I wasn't going to tell you about it but I think you should know." I waited before I said anything else, knowing she would see.

I saw understanding in her wide eyes. "Oh."

"That one is mine," I explained, referring to the venom. Carlisle had one in his office with Edward's venom – given their apparent blood relation, his was slightly more effective than Carlisle's when tested against Ellie's blood. None of us were taking any chances. "There's another one at your parents' house," I added out loud.

"Okay," she answered numbly.

Later that night, I held her tightly to my body as she slept, wondering idly how many more times I would be able to do this. I studied her face, relaxed, peaceful. The revelations from earlier today played through my memory, constantly on repeat in my brain. The image that Ellie showed me earlier, Alice's vision, flashed in my mind. The sight of her with red eyes made me suck in a sharp breath, even though I'd pictured it a thousand times in the last few hours. As torturous as it was to see that image and to know that her survival hinged on our ability to react to some unknown danger, the unnamed complication that could somehow end the life of a practically immortal being, it was still a relief to think of it freely now, without fear of her having to suffer my thoughts in addition to her own.

I gently rolled to my back, moving my sleeping wife so that she was lying across my chest, which I knew was her favorite way to sleep. Closing my eyes, I breathed in her scent, letting it fill my head and clear my mind. I relished the feeling of her bare skin, which was blazing in comparison to my cold temperature. She began to stir slightly, I could tell from the sound of her breathing that she would be awake momentarily.

As she awoke, she stretched and sat up, looking back down at me. As often happens, the sight of her struck me speechless. She was gorgeous, of course, and her sleep-ruffled hair fell around her, brushing my chest as she leaned over me. Her crystal blue eyes probed mine, and I could tell from her expression that she was looking through my thoughts. She kissed me lightly and I smiled at her, but I knew she could see through my pretense. I moved her hair over her shoulder and lightly brushed her arm with my fingers, bring my hand to a stop and curling it around her arm above her elbow. I pulled her back to me, crushing my mouth to hers. I could feel her surprise in her response, but she didn't pull away. It took immense effort to pull away from her, to be so close to her like this and not give in to what I wanted now, and always. I knew she wouldn't rebuff me if I kept going, but I didn't want to put more stress on her body right now. When I finally broke off the kiss, I ducked my head slightly.

"Sorry," I said, working to control my breathing.

"For what? You can wake me up like that anytime." Her musical laughter rang out in the room as she spoke.

A genuine grin spread across my face, and I reached up to take her face in my hands. "I love you." She snuggled back against me, kissing my chest and hugging herself to me. We didn't speak for a long time after that. I could feel her warm breath against my skin and I lightly ran my fingers over her scalp, combing through her hair and lightly tracing my fingers back up her arms, shoulders and neck before repeating the circuit. Every so often she would shudder delicately at my touch. The silence between us was easy, but not untroubled. I felt her muscles tensing, her breathing speeding up slightly as her anxiety began to rise.

My fingers strayed from their path, traveling along her jaw. "What are you thinking about?" She didn't answer me. "Ellie? Tell me, please?"

She sighed. "I was just thinking about...after," she confessed finally. I curved my hand around her cheek, bracing myself so that I didn't break down when she needed my support.

"What about?" I whispered. I listened to her confess her fear - the venom. She worried about her control, which had been beyond reproach before even with her brief exposure to human blood, albeit from donor supplies. She worried about her control around Nathaniel, who would need to feed as an infant, too small to hunt as we do. I knew as I moved to kiss her that I probably shouldn't, but I was overwhelmed by the need to comfort her. When I pulled my face from hers, I felt her hot tears on my skin.

"Ellie. You can do this," I told her. I knew she could, she could do anything. "And you will be here for Nathaniel. It's going to be okay. And for the record," I paused, "I don't give a shit what you eat." I grinned at her as I repeated her own words, from so many years ago, back to her.

"Did Alice see any of that, when you guys were in the woods?" she asked, eyeing me carefully. I looked away, and she called me out immediately. "She did, didn't she? Tell me."

I kissed her softly and confessed that while her visions were unclear on this subject, she worried that Ellie would struggle as a newborn. She rolled away from me and covered her face with her hands.

"I was afraid of that," she said. If I didn't know better, I would have thought I misheard what she said next. "What if I'm too different? What if you don't want me?"

I pulled her hands away from her beautiful face. "Ellie," I said gently but firmly. "You will still be you. You are mine. Forever. I will always want you." I leaned down and placed a kiss on her lips, pulling back only slightly and waiting until her eyes met mine. "You're already strong, you'll just be stronger. You're fast; you'll be faster. Yes the thirst is hard, but we will all be there to help you. We will get through this."

"I love you, Chris," she sighed. "I'm so sorry." She was apologizing to _me_. I could feel the tenuous hold on my emotions starting to slip.

"Stop it, love. Please don't," I pleaded. "I just need you to be okay. I don't care if you hunt 100 humans a day as long as you stay with me. I will happily hold on to you for eternity if that's what it takes, just please, please don't leave me." I hated myself for saying that out loud, as if she needed to be worried about me right now, but my control was lost. I dropped my head to her chest as ridiculous tearless sobs tore through me, shaking us both. She cried with me, I could feel her tears running into my hair as I gasped against her, holding her as tightly as I could without hurting her or our unborn son.

When I was sure that Ellie was sleeping soundly, I slid out of bed and crept silently to the bathroom to take a shower. It literally pained me to separate from her, but I only had a feeble hold on myself and I didn't want to wake her if I lost it again. I stood under the scalding stream, facing the water with my head bowed, hands braced against the wall. I knew that I had to get it together once and for all. We didn't know what was going to happen next and she needed me now. She seemed resolved to move forward with what she had suggested earlier in Carlisle's office – delivering the child early instead of waiting for labor. I didn't like it, but I didn't like the alternative either.

The looming unknowns ate at my insides, tearing at every cell of my being. I took a deep breath, trying to focus on what I knew. She _would_ survive. That had never changed in Alice's visions; it was just the _way_ she survived that had shifted. There was a part of me that hated myself for the relief that washed over me as I forced my mind to accept that this was what would happen, this was what _had _to happen. I relaxed ever so slightly – she wouldn't die. Not really. I would be there for her to help her in any way that I could. We would get her through the horror of the transition and remind her of what she already knows – that she can survive without hunting humans.

I briefly acknowledged other thoughts that I had worked so hard to suppress during her waking hours today – like what if _she _didn't want _me_. I let out a hard chuckle as I shook off this thought. I knew I was being ridiculous, that she would still be Ellie, but my fears were getting more irrational with every passing second. Edward had heard that thought in the back of my mind as we ran back to the house before.

"Don't worry about that, Christopher," he said simply. I looked at him sheepishly, feeling guilty then for focusing on what was a fairly trivial, and exceedingly selfish, concern at the moment. He simply smiled and shook his head, understanding in his eyes.

The sound of Ellie's voice brought me out of my thoughts. "Christopher," she murmured in her sleep. I listened to her breathing and her heart as I shut the water off, she was still sleeping but I didn't want her to notice my absence. I dried and threw on a pair of boxers, climbing back into bed and pulling her carefully back against my chest.

I felt the tension creep through her body before she even stirred. Suddenly, she sat up, awake and crying out in pain.

"Ellie?!" I cried stupidly, knowing she couldn't speak to answer me. She groaned in response, her head leaning forward toward her bent knees. "Breathe baby," I urged her gently, rubbing her back.

She sucked in a deep breath and exhaled through her teeth with a hiss. She repeated the action three times before I felt her start to relax. "Ellie?" I said again. "What can I do?"

She shook her head and smiled weakly at me. "It's passed now. I'm okay," she whispered. She leaned back against me. "Sorry about that."

I chuckled, kissing her head. "For what?"

"You sounded so scared. I am going to call my dad in the morning; I think we need to move forward with delivery," she said grimly. "I don't think it makes sense to wait at this point."

I swallowed anxiously, willing myself to keep calm. "Okay," I whispered numbly. Before I could say anything else, I felt her arm go straight as a rod, tension rippling through her again as she dug her fingers into my leg.

"Ow," she moaned. "Oh my god," she was gasping now. The pain was worse. She bent forward, pressed her palms into the bed, and rose up onto her knees, rocking slightly as she whimpered. I was on my knees beside her immediately, my hands pressed lightly on her stomach. She cried out my name, her eyes squeezed shut.

"I'm here baby, breathe. It's okay," I assured her. She stilled finally, but the tension remained. "Is it better?" I asked her quietly.

She nodded, catching her breath. She sat back on her heels, still clutching her stomach. She looked at me with her eyes wide. "Chris," she gasped. "I think he's coming _now_."

I held her face in my hand for a moment, looking into her eyes, frozen in my own terror for several seconds before I gathered myself again, shoving those feelings aside. She needed me now. I kissed her quickly and sprang from the bed, standing at the bedside table with my phone in hand. She crawled over to edge of the bed and stood beside me. I stepped closer and put my hand on her shoulder as I found her father's number.

"Christopher," he answered before the first ring was finished. "Is she okay?" Alice must have seen, I realized.

"Carlisle, I think she's in labor," I gasped into the phone. As I said this, Ellie was suddenly bent over herself again, her hands against the bed. I stooped to help keep her steady. Carlisle heard her crying out and swore into the phone. I was vaguely aware of doors slamming on the other end of the line.

"We're on our way Christopher." The line went dead and I dropped the phone on the floor, supporting Ellie with both of my hands now.

"What can I do?" I asked her anxiously. I realized how little I knew about labor and childbirth; I had no idea how to make her comfortable through this. Cursing my ineptitude, I placed my hands on her lower back, rubbing gently, hoping that the cold temperature might be soothing. She groaned loudly now, making a guttural sound I'd never heard from her before. She rocked slightly from side to side, her legs spread slightly. She seemed calmer this time, as if she was finding a way to cope with the pain. Her breathing slowed and her movements stilled again, and after a moment she stood beside me again.

I pulled her against me, kissing her forehead. "I'm scared, Chris," she whispered, clutching herself closer to me.

"Shh," I whispered in her ear. "You can do this, you are amazing, and you are strong." I wiped the tears from her cheeks, continuing to think this mantra. "I love you so much, Ellie. You and Nathaniel are my life, and I will get you through this, do you understand?"

She looked up at me, standing up on her toes to kiss me. "I love you too," she said.

"Your dad is on his way, Ellie. I'm not sure who is coming with him," I said. She nodded. She grabbed one of my shirts and put it on.

"I realize this is ridiculous," she said with a laugh. Before I could join in her laughter, another contraction took hold, and several more followed in rapid succession, her recovery time between each wave of pain decreasing quickly. I rocked with her, held her, and supported her in any way that I could think of, feeling utterly helpless as she suffered.

"He's coming too quickly," she groaned during one contraction. "He's moving down so fast." As she spoke, her water broke, the fluid rushing from her body in torrents. There was blood. Carlisle burst through the door then, Esme, Rose and Edward on his heels.

Carlisle ran through a series of questions about her condition and I answered them absently, my focus entirely on my wife. She was struggling now; there was no release between the waves of pain, her face twisted as she tried to breathe through the constant, excruciating attack on her body. Rosalie was beside us, kneeling down between Ellie and me. I didn't realize what she was doing at first.

"Carlisle," she said urgently. "He's crowning."

The next several minutes were a blur; it was a testament to how overwhelmed my mind was that I truly could not clearly recall everything that happened. It could easily have been only seconds later that Carlisle was helping Ellie to lie back on the bed, sitting up slightly against the headboard.

"Christopher," Rosalie said softly. "Would you like to hold your son?"

I whirled around, my eyes landing on the tiny boy. "Nathaniel," I gasped. He really did look just like me, I marveled as she placed the bundle in my arms. I moved toward Ellie, Carlisle stepping aside so that I could let her see.

I held him in one arm, brushing her hair aside. "You did it," I whispered. I held him out for her to see, and she leaned forward slightly to kiss his head. I could feel my already-pale face go whiter as I looked at her; she looked sick, weak. I realized that whatever complication Alice had foreseen was about to take hold, but before I could react, I watched in horror as her eyes rolled back into her head and she slumped over.

"Carlisle!" I cried. "What's wrong? Ellie!"

He pulled back the covers; the sheets were soaked with blood. "She's hemorrhaging," he said, horrified.

I couldn't reach out to her with Nathaniel in my arms, I turned to Esme and unloaded him quickly, racing around the other side of the bed to my wife – her father and siblings were already towering over her, trying to rouse her. When she didn't respond, Carlisle moved her from the bed to the floor and started CPR.

"The syringe," Edward said. "Where is it?"

I stared as they worked on her, unable to speak. "Christopher!" he roared, his hand on my shoulder, shaking me. I shook my head, trying to focus.

"The kitchen." I dropped to my knees by Ellie's head; I wasn't sure if my response to Edward had even been out loud, but I knew he would be back in merely seconds. The seconds dragged on for what felt like eternity however, and I was overwhelmed by my helplessness. Before I knew what I was doing, my lips were against her neck. I closed the wound with my tongue before Carlisle could push me away, sealing my venom in her arteries.

"Christopher," Carlisle admonished, but he didn't have time to rebuke me further. Edward was standing over us now, the syringe in hand. He plunged it into her chest, forcing the venom straight to her heart as he had done for Bella. Carlisle continued his compressions, stopping after a moment to listen. Her heart was beating again, faster than before. Her body shuddered violently as the venom started to race through her system. I braced for her to cry out, but she didn't make a sound.

"Why is she so quiet?" I asked, my voice a dull whisper.

"Give her time," Edward answered. "I don't think her mind has registered any…discomfort yet."

I slid my arm under her neck, pulling her body closer to me. "Can we move her?" I mumbled to anyone willing to answer; I didn't bother to look away from my wife as I spoke. She looked so broken, lying on the floor. Carlisle nodded and I looked to Rosalie. "I want to…clean her up," I said lamely. She smiled gently. Ellie would hate to be left in such a state, blood and fluids dried on her skin.

"That's a good idea," Rosalie said. I picked up my wife's lifeless body and followed her sister to the bathroom.

I stood holding Ellie against me as Rosalie started the water in the tub. I wasn't sure how to go about this really, or how Ellie would feel about me bathing her with her sister's help. But I guessed since Rosalie had just assisted in delivering her baby that Ellie would forgive me for this once she awoke. After adjusting the water temperature, Rosalie stood and helped me gently set her down in the water, stepping aside so that I could carefully wash her.

When most of the gore had been cleaned away, I picked her up out of the bath water, and Rosalie snatched a towel from the cabinet to dry her. I grabbed her robe from the hook on the door and put it on her carefully, and carried her back to the bed. The bedding had been stripped and replaced, almost all evidence of the earlier trauma banished. Esme was rocking Nathaniel in her arms, trying to lull him to sleep. I saw his head turn as I carried his mother back to the bed, he was watching intently. Esme exchanged a worried glance with Edward, who nodded to her almost imperceptibly. I assumed that Edward had confirmed whatever her concern was and with that, Esme took the baby into the nursery.

I laid Ellie down and covered her with the fresh linens. I ducked into the closet and changed into a clean pair of shorts, not bothering to put on a shirt, and returned to the bed to lie down beside her. I smoothed her hair and ran my fingers down her neck, tracing them along the outline of where my teeth broke through her skin. I could hear Carlisle murmuring into the phone, speaking to someone at the house to update the rest of the family. It sounded like they would all be here soon. As he hung up, he sat down on the bed, on Ellie's other side.

I looked at him, and saw his eyes focused on the wound on Ellie's neck. I grimaced. "I'm sorry about that," I said, looking up at him, abashed. "I don't know what came over me."

He shook his head. "There's no need to apologize. I would only have told you that it wasn't necessary." He pressed his fingers to her wrist.

"How is she?" I breathed. I remembered my own transition well, I was thought to be a battlefield casualty, and was left in a ditch where I suffered through the burning. I cried out in agony, but the other soldiers had long left the area; no one could hear my screaming, alone in the abandoned field. We knew now that Bella's silence during her change was partially the result of morphine-induced paralysis, but Ellie hadn't been given any pain medication. "Why is she so still?"

He shrugged helplessly as he looked at his daughter. "I don't know, but I suspect Edward's earlier theory is correct. As she heals, her awareness will return and," he swallowed, "I suspect she won't be so silent then."

A quiet knock startled me. I turned to see Esme standing in the doorway, still holding Nathaniel. I held my hands out to her. She understood immediately and handed him to me, and I cradled him against my chest, kissing his forehead. He yawned and snuggled closer. His skin felt even warmer against mine than Ellie's, and it was at that moment that I realized her temperature had cooled significantly. As the baby fell asleep, I moved him so that his head was on my shoulder and his body against my chest, slipping my other arm around Ellie.

Time seemed to crawl by, every second felt like an hour. My entire being was split into two. I was incredibly at peace and even joyful, holding the baby, my infant _son_. I had never expected to be a father even as a human, and surely not during my two and a half centuries roaming alone as an immortal. I marveled at the ways this one amazing woman had completely altered my life and my being.

The other part of me, however, was in agony, hell really, waiting for some tangible sign that my wife would come back to me. Even with our son in my arms, I could not fathom an existence without her beside me. I knew that she was changing, which meant she would _not_ die – not really – but as the initial shock of the morning's events wore off, I struggled not to give in to my fears and let the panic overwhelm me.

Suddenly, she screamed. I gasped reflexively. "Ellie!" I cried, tightening my arm around her, forgetting for a moment the sleeping baby on my chest. He was startled by the noise and started to cry. Before I could soothe him, Rosalie burst in and took him from me, calming him immediately. Ellie screamed again, her body convulsing violently, I wrapped both my arms around her, trying to comfort her. She thrashed harder as my hold on her tightened.

"Ellie, Ellie, honey it's me," I said, my lips close to her ear. She calmed when I spoke. "Ellie, say something baby."

"Wakemeup," she gasped, her words slurred. "_Please_."

Her desperate plea disarmed me. "Honey," I said as a sob ripped from my chest. "I'm so sorry. It's not a dream, but it will be over soon."

She screamed again. I put my hand on her face. Her eyes opened and her limbs flailed against me again. When she registered my face, she stilled, shock and confusion mixed with the pain in her eyes and her twisted expression. Carlisle spoke now, explaining to her what was happening. Her hands flew to her stomach, which was now flat, void of any sign of her earlier condition.

"The baby?!" she yelled. "Where's my baby?"

"Shh, Ellie, it's okay," I whispered. "He's perfect. He was born yesterday morning, it happened so fast but you were amazing."

I squeezed her hands. "Who keeps touching me?" she moaned, still confused. New screams ripped from her throat and her body shook furiously.

"It's me, honey. It's Christopher," I said, my voice breaking. "I love you so much, baby. Hold on for me, _please._"

She continued to cry out, she didn't understand what was happening and she begged me to make it stop. I held her, even as she fought against me, and I told her I was sorry and how much I loved her, over and over again. I would have given anything to take her pain away, and I cried against her as she screamed. Esme and Carlisle were both in the room, sometimes sitting on the bed, sometimes pacing or leaning against each other. Esme sat beside me at one point as I cried, and I felt her hand on my shoulder, her arm shaking with her own tearless sobs.

I closed my eyes and thought back through the events that led to this point, hoping Ellie would see. I didn't show her _everything_; I was worried that it would only terrify her more. I thought of Nathaniel, and she breathed his name as her mind registered the memory. I kept my thoughts trained on our son; it seemed to calm her for the moment.

She reached out for my hand, her confusion over my touch forgotten, at least for the moment. Her calm didn't last, however. She shuddered and shrieked in agony, curling into me this time. I reached over her and ran my fingers through her hair, speaking softly in her ear as she writhed. Edward explained to me that my voice was helping to soothe her, he was finally able to get a read on her thoughts again. Relief washed over me at the realization that I could do something, anything, to help her, and I kept talking in her ear, telling her everything I could possibly think to say. I sang to her, told her I loved her. I told her I would always be glad that I made her so angry that day at Cornell, earning a short laugh from Carlisle.

As the hours passed, I knew the end was rapidly getting closer. I could hear her heartbeat getting faster; it was easily going twice as fast as it ever did normally. I felt a new wave of tension sweep through her body, her muscles seized and her head thrashed wildly.

'CHRISTOPHER!" she screamed, her voice soaked with agony. I clutched her tighter to me, but before I could answer her, Carlisle spoke her name.

"Ellie, you're nearing the end of the process," Carlisle explained gently, struggling to keep his voice steady. "The pain will become more centralized, and increase for a short time while it burns out, so to speak." He swallowed, collecting himself. "Your heart will stop soon. That will be the end."

For what must have been the hundredth time in the last two days, I lost the tenuous hold on my emotions. It didn't matter to me that her parents were standing beside us, I sobbed against my wife's body as her heart pounded its last beats. It only took me a moment to realize that they too were crying together, each holding one of Ellie's hands while holding onto one another as well. I recognized the sound of her heart's final beats; I knew it would falter any second. Everyone in the house stopped breathing almost simultaneously, waiting.

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**A/N: Please Review! **


	3. Alive

Chapter 2. Alive.

I knew it was only in my mind, but the final _thud_ of Ellie's heart echoed deafeningly in my ears as I held her. I felt her chest expand as she inhaled, and her muscles relaxed immediately. I picked my head up slightly to examine her face, trying to be patient as I waited for her to open her eyes. I was again envious of my telepathic wife and brother-in-law; I desperately wanted to know what was going through her mind right now. Edward chuckled quietly, whether at my thought or something in Ellie's mind I did not know.

Her hand fluttered toward me in a movement that was much faster than she had been capable of before. I took her hand in mine and brought it to my lips, kissing her palm.

"Ellie, sweetie, open your eyes. Please," I whispered, my lips still brushing her hand. I held my breath as I waited for her to comply, sighing with relief when her eyes finally opened. She sat up quickly, seeming startled as she took in the sight of her parents standing by the bed. I sat up with her, keeping my hand lightly on her arm.

"Mom?" she said. She winced as she spoke, but the sound of her bell-clear voice brought an uncontrollable smile to my face. "Daddy?" She looked back and forth between Carlisle and Esme.

"Ellie," Esme gasped with relief, taking her daughter in her arms, kissing her cheek. "I love you, sweetheart. I'm so sorry you had to go through that," she said. Carlisle stepped closer, and I could see the mixed emotions in his eyes, the stress of watching his daughter go through the hellish transition to full-vampire aging his forever-youthful features. As their eyes met, Ellie raised a hand self-consciously to her face. I guessed that Carlisle was registering her new, red eyes.

He fixed a smile on his face and moved to embrace her as Esme had. "Don't worry about that," he whispered, kissing her cheek. "I love you. How do you feel?"

She unwound her arms from around her father's neck. "Weird," she answered. I swallowed a laugh at her simple yet surely accurate assessment. It wouldn't do to upset her right now, but the answer was purely Ellie. Carlisle, however, did let out a chuckle at this.

"Weird is understandable," he acknowledged, grabbing Esme's hand. "We will give you two some privacy." My father-in-law looked at me now. "You should have her hunt soon, Chris." I stood and walked over to him before they could leave the room.

"Thank you," I said, my voice breaking as I embraced him. "Thank you for saving her." Carlisle returned my hug, holding the back of my head for a moment before releasing me. I turned to face my wife as her parents left our room, closing the door behind them. I knew I should usher her out quickly to hunt, but all I could do was stare at her. It was merely a second or two before she spoke, though it felt like I stood before her for hours in awed silence.

"Chris," she said finally. At the sound of my name on her lips I rushed to her and wrapped her in a tight hug as she stood. Before I could regain any semblance of control, my hands slipped under her robe and it instantly dropped to the floor. I couldn't stop the moan from escaping my mouth as I looked at her, standing naked before me. She was still my Ellie, but I could see every subtle change to her physique – her arms and legs were still long and lean, feminine, yet visibly stronger. I suddenly couldn't wait to see her run. Her stomach was flat and defined, no evidence remained that not two days prior she had been heavily pregnant.

"Chris," she said again as my eyes met hers and I took in the sight of her face. "I love you."

I knew I should be careful not to overwhelm her, but her words undid my resolve to be patient. I kissed her furiously, not being careful like I would have been before. The need for me to control my strength with my Ellie as a half-vampire was nothing compared to the restraint required of Edward while Bella was human, and as such had never been particularly difficult for me. She had been unbreakable in contrast to a full human, but a hybrid's strength paled in comparison to that of a full vampire, so I did have to make subtle adjustments to my movements with her and I was always careful to temper my strength. Now, however, I let all of that caution fall away. She moaned as I kissed her, opening her mouth and holding her body against every line of my own. She gasped as my skin pressed against hers. I wanted nothing more than to take her back to the bed and make love to her for days, weeks even, every cell in my body screamed at me in need for her. I cursed inwardly as more rational thoughts crept back through my mind, reminding me that my wife needed to hunt, if nothing else for the safety of our family, and most importantly our son.

It took all of my strength to pull back from her, my hands moving to her arms. "Oh god, Ellie," I gasped. "I love you so much." Before I could slow my breathing, she wiggled free and threw her arms around my neck and returned her lips to mine, forcing my mouth open to her roughly, biting my lip in the process. The force of her attack took me by surprise and I growled reflexively. She moaned and my hands moved of their own volition to grab her ass, clutching her body closer to my own. I again cursed my own propriety as I forced myself to separate from her, holding her back from my body, my hands locked tightly around her tiny wrists.

"Ellie, Ellie, wait," I responded with a chuckle as she whimpered. "Believe me I want that too," I said. She had _no_ idea how much. Even as that thought flashed through my mind I reconsidered; given her abilities, she probably did know, and I was sure that wasn't helping either of us reign things in. I reached out to touch her face. "But shouldn't we hunt first? How do you feel?"

Her hand flew to her throat and her groan told me everything I needed to know. She was thirsty and hurting, we needed to go. I kissed her softly, careful not to let my lips linger. "I know sweetie. That will get easier. Lets get dressed, we will get in the car and go."

Her adorable pout distracted me again, and my desire for her threatened to overwhelm me. Before I could move, I saw realization dawn on her beautiful face. "Oh my god," she gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. "Nathaniel." I smiled instantly, hearing our son's name on her lips.

"He's downstairs. He's amazing."

Her eyes widened in wonder. "Can I see him? Please?"

I hesitated, trying to control my thoughts, I didn't want to upset her, and it went against every instinct I had to deny her anything. "Don't you think we should hunt first?"

Of course, she knew me too well to give up so easily. She knew how hard it would be for me to refuse her. "Christopher, please. I need to see him." I took her face in my hands, my resolve crumbling. She covered my hands with hers. "Please."

Jasper was going to be pissed at me for this. "Esme, would you bring the baby up please?" I said quietly. I heard her stand and walk slowly up the stairs, and I could hear several sets of feet walking behind her. Ellie heard this as well and darted into the closet to dress.

"Christopher," she said.

I went to stand behind her, my hands on her waist. "What, sweetheart?"

"Everything feels so strange. Like it's the same but not."

I wrapped my arms around her waist, holding her to me as I dropped my head to kiss her neck. She reached up and ran her fingers through my hair in response.

"I know honey," I said simply. Suddenly, she whirled to face me, the force of her movement knocking me off balance, her strength and speed catching us both off guard. She caught me, her tiny hands holding _me_ upright now.

"Sorry," she whispered as she leaned up, her face almost touching mine. "You feel so warm to me now," she mused. I could feel her eyes burning into my chest, and the desire I'd been fighting since her parents left the room roared inside of me again. The difference in her touch was palatable to me as well, and I could feel my mouth going slack from the sensation of her hands on me. I could hear Esme's footsteps reaching the top of the stairs; she had approached at nearly a human's pace at Jasper's urging. I struggled to regain my composure as she knocked quietly on the door.

Ellie responded, "Come in, Mom." Esme walked in the room and handed Nathaniel, bundled in a blue blanket, to me. I heard Ellie's gasp as she got a glimpse of him, but before she could study him closely, she looked over at her brothers huddled protectively in the doorway.

"Hi guys," she said.

"Hey Ellie. How are you doing?" said Emmett casually, as if it were any other day.

"Ask them," she replied simply, nodding toward Edward and Jasper. I heard Emmett chuckle in response and I could feel the preemptive waves of calm that Jasper was pushing in her direction.

"Actually," Edward said. "You're doing really well, Ellie. But you really should hunt soon."

The baby stirred in my arms, and this caught Ellie's attention at once. She whirled back around to face us; I could feel her watching as I looked adoringly onto our child. I touched his face with my fingertip, tracing his delicate features, and I could hear her stop breathing as she watched. She took half a step toward me and her brothers each took two steps closer to her in response. I looked up at them with an eyebrow raised, annoyed by their overreaction.

"Easy guys," I said, holding a hand out toward them. Ellie was keeping herself perfectly well in check and I was not about to let them ruin this for her.

Jasper protested, reminding me unnecessarily that Ellie needed to hunt.

His complaint irritated my newborn wife. "I'm still in the room you know," she snapped. "I will hunt after I get to see my son. I don't even remember his birth for fuck's sake."

She turned back to face Nathaniel and me. "Please Chris, may I?" I kissed her quickly and carefully laid the tiny baby in her arms. I watched her as she memorized his face, a curious expression appearing on her own.

"Chris?"

"Yeah?"

"How long has it been?"

I explained to her how her transition only took about forty-eight hours, which was incredibly fast as these things go. She nodded as she processed this information, and brought the baby closer to her face and inhaled his scent. Even I reacted anxiously at this, but to Ellie's credit, she didn't show any outward signs of irritation. She calmly rolled her eyes at all of us and kissed her son's head. As I relaxed, I was able to fully comprehend what I could see before me. My wife. My son. My _family. _After all of the strife and trauma of the last few days, we were all here together; my family was whole.

"Come on Ellie," I said softly, taking her hand after Esme whisked the hungry baby away. "Let's get in the car." I hurried her through the house, taking the long way around through the kitchen, figuring she wasn't ready to pass through the throng of family members just yet. I sped through the Boston streets, anxious to get far enough out of the city that we could hunt safely.

"Alice told me we wouldn't run into any police, so don't worry about that," I said. I wasn't sure whether she would be able to focus enough to tell me if there were any cops in the area or not anyway, but I didn't want to give her something else to be concerned about. She nodded.

After several minutes of silence, she spoke. "Tell me what happened. Please."

I looked over at her. "You really don't remember?" This baffled me, typically, at least for humans; the last memories before the transition are the ones that remain most clearly.

"The last thing I remember, before the burning, was falling asleep after we cried together." She swallowed. "I thought I was dreaming. I was waiting for you to wake me up."

I squeezed my eyes shut, remembering her pleas to me to make the horrid burning stop. "You said that, you know," I whispered. "You said 'wake me up.' God, I so wish I could have, Ellie. You were in so much pain and I couldn't help you. I'm so sorry." I cringed as my voice broke.

"Christopher," she said firmly. "_Please_ tell me. What happened?"

I looked over at her again and then turned back toward the road. I really didn't know what to do. I was worried that too much information might overwhelm her. And though I knew her siblings were waiting in the forest where I told them I was taking her, if she bolted from the car before we got there, there was no way I could stop her on my own. I had almost no experience dealing with newborn vampires, and I knew she could easily overpower me right now. I squeezed the steering wheel as I deliberated, I could feel her watching me. She needed to feed; if I could hold her off until then she might be able to handle the information better, I reasoned to myself.

"Chris. Please," she murmured, before she threw her head back and groaned. I winced, realizing that my silent one-sided debate probably reminded her of her thirst.

"Your throat?" I asked stupidly.

She nodded, her eyes closed. I floored the accelerator as we reached the highway, toying with pulling off sooner than I planned to get her relief more quickly. Before I could put the idea into action, however, unbidden thoughts appeared in my mind; I recognized Ellie's gift for mental intrusion at once. I could see me through her eyes; she was staring at me, noticing the way the muscles in my arms and legs flexed. She imagined herself over me, drawing her tongue along every line of my body. I could feel my eyes widen as I clamped my hands down tighter on the steering wheel, the images in my mind nearly undoing all of my efforts not to overwhelm her with my own physical longing. I swallowed a moan and shot her a look.

"I'm sure we can make time for that," I said with a soft chuckle.

She gaped at me as if she had no idea what I was talking about. "You were thinking about me. Licking me to be exact," I explained, trying to keep my tone light. "You, um, shared that one with me."

Her eyes widened. She clearly had not intended to let me see that. "I did?!" she cried. I nodded, raising my eyebrow.

"Well that could be a problem," she joked.

I laughed. "I didn't mind, truly."

"It's not a bad idea though," she said, grinning at me.

"Not at all," I answered. I had every intention of taking her up on that idea when things calmed down. But for now, I had to focus on my first concern: taking care of her. I reached out and took her hand.

"It's okay to be overwhelmed Ellie. I know you're putting a lot of pressure on yourself because not all of this is new, but no one expects you to adjust overnight. You didn't exactly have a lot of time to prepare."

I pulled onto the shoulder, we had arrived in the area that I had told her siblings I planned to bring her. As we disappeared into the trees, out of sight from the highway, I took off running, still holding her hand. She kept up with me effortlessly and I watched with appreciation as she put her newly strengthened legs to the test – she was truly a wonder. Between the two of us we quickly took down a small pack of deer. I waited until she had her fill, and she sat and watched me as I had mine. As I walked back to her, she called me out as only my wife could.

"So who followed us out here?"

"What do you mean?" I answered, trying to sound innocent.

"Christopher, I wasn't actually born yesterday, or today for that matter. You ran off and left me sitting here. I could have taken off back to the highway for dessert."

I grinned in spite of myself. "Did you want to?"

She rolled her eyes and continued to grill me. She was good; she named the three most likely spies immediately – Edward, Jasper and Bella. I didn't know if anyone else came along, and frankly I didn't care at that moment. My need for her was too much, and I dropped to my knees beside her. My sudden movement distracted her as I hoped it would and she didn't stop me as I positioned myself in between her legs. I grinned at her, before swiftly knocking her arms out from under her, catching her head before she crashed to the ground beneath me, eliciting a moan from her.

"You're trying to distract me, aren't you?" she asked. Oh yes I certainly was. I ducked my head and kissed her neck, forgetting that the spot where I was pressing my lips was exactly where I had bitten her not that long ago. I felt her body tense.

"Ow," she said. "What the fuck?"

"Oh shit, Ellie I'm sorry about that, does it still hurt?" I said sheepishly. I gently rubbed the area. "I, um, bit you when things got rough. Edward had to run down to get the syringe," I explained quietly. I still couldn't believe I was so stupid to leave the syringe of venom in the kitchen, so far away from us. "And I was worried we were running out of time. I'm sorry, you won't notice it soon."

I looked at her face, expecting to see anger over the unnecessary injury that I inflicted upon her. I gasped in shock as I registered the desire in her eyes a fraction of a second before her lips were on mine. I knew I wouldn't be able to stop myself this time, unless of course it became too much for _her_. My tongue forced its way into her mouth and my hands moved rapidly over her body. I wanted to feel every part of her; I needed to feel that she was truly whole and not a figment of my imagination. The feeling of her skin beneath me was at last confirmation that despite the hell she had been through, she survived and I was _not_ going to lose her. Ever. Our clothes were off in an instant and my cock was pressing against her entrance. I fought against myself to regain enough control to make sure that I wasn't pushing her too fast.

I touched her face, willing her to look into my eyes. "If this is too much, tell me. We don't have to do this yet," I whispered.

"Christopher Dawling," she growled, a sound that sent shockwaves through my body. "Are you suggesting that you may be too much for me?" With that, she slammed her hips against mine, taking me in forcefully. I almost came that instant, it took everything I had not to explode as she moaned when I pulled back and thrust into her roughly again.

"Apparently that's not the case," I groaned. I could feel my eyes rolling back slightly as I moved in her. She grabbed my hair with one hand and my ass with the other, and with her additional strength she pulled me against her harder, my cock reaching deeper into her. I wasn't going to last much longer and thankfully I knew she would not either. I could feel her muscles pulsing around me as she came, and I quickly followed suit. She held my body still against her as she continued to writhe against me, bringing herself down from her orgasm. She was beyond amazing.

A couple of hours later, I was parking the car back in the garage at home. Ellie hadn't said much as we drove back into the city, but the space between us felt calmer now that she had hunted and we'd had a chance to relieve some of the other tensions that had built up since she woke up. I squeezed her hand and let go to cut the engine.

"Nervous?" I asked as she fidgeted in her seat.

"I don't want to be on display, or picked apart," she answered. "I'm worried that every move I make will be analyzed. I haven't even screwed up yet and I feel like I'm going to be in trouble."

I put my right hand back over her left. "There's no reason to feel that way, love. Everyone in there just wants to help."

She stared straight ahead with a blank expression on her face – she was listening to the minds of our family members inside. She made a face in reaction to something she heard. "They want us to come back to New Hampshire," she said.

I sighed. I had expected this. Our original plans, before Alice revealed that the outcome was going to be so dramatically different than we originally expected, were to stay in Boston as a family of three for a while. Of course, the extended family would be welcome to come and go at will, but Ellie and I had come to consider this our home and we were both looking forward to raising our son here. With Ellie's change, however, I didn't expect that this would be possible, at least not until we knew how Ellie was going to handle to difficulties of being a newborn.

"I'm not too surprised by that," I said simply. "Come on, one thing at a time, okay?" I squeezed her hand gently, looking at her until she was ready to get out. She smiled at me, nodding and inhaling deeply. I kissed her head and said, "Okay."

I led her through the house to the living room where the family was gathered. The tension was palpable as they waited for us to come into the room, and it seemed like everyone let out a breath at once they were all able to see Ellie for themselves. I squeezed her hand and looked over to see her face. She was grimacing and I saw her eyes flash to Edward's face.

"God, is it always so loud?" she asked him. Her gift, I realized then, must be stronger now as well. Before her change, Ellie had been incredibly adept at ignoring others' thoughts when she wanted to, however it seemed that at least for now, the voices in her head were more intrusive than she was used to.

Edward gave her a small smile and nodded in assent. "You will adjust to that. I am sorry that it didn't occur to me to warn you that might happen."

Carlisle spoke up next. "How was your hunt, Ellie?"

"It was fine," she answered with a noncommittal shrug.

A strange choking sound arose from Jasper – I realized he was trying to suppress laughter at her response. I raised my eyebrow at him as Ellie whipped her head around to face him.

"Something you'd like to say there, Jazz?" she quipped.

He made a face. "Seemed like it was more than fine from where I was standing."

I could see from the look in Ellie's eyes that his response confirmed her earlier assertion that her siblings had followed us out to the forest. I cringed, hoping she didn't get too angry for my part in allowing that to happen.

"Perhaps that will teach you not to spy on people," she shot back at her brother. He was about to fire back at her, but Carlisle held up his hands, silencing both of his squabbling children immediately.

"I was referring more specifically to how you felt when you fed, Ellie," Carlisle said. He was watching her carefully, and I could that there was an unspoken exchange between the two of them, a knowing smile briefly crossing Carlisle's face before an almost apologetic expression replaced it. They continued to parse her hunting experience for a moment, but I tuned out as I remembered our brief respite together earlier in the forest.

Edward caught my eye, drawing me out of my reminiscence, but before he could beg for me to stop with the mental images, I heard Ellie whisper, "I'm sorry," and breeze past me before I could catch her.

"Ellie?!" I cried, taking off after her toward the garage. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw she was waiting for me in the garage. If she had taken off into the city alone it could have been disastrous. I pulled her to my chest. "What was that about?"

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I just needed to get out of there. Can we take a walk?"

"Okay," I agreed. I took her hand and led her into the alley, holding her hand as tightly as I could, hoping that no one else would be walking the streets at this hour. I knew she could hear the anxiety in my thoughts.

"You can hold on to me, Chris," she said. "I would rather that anyway." I kissed her hair and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, placing my other hand securely on her waist.

As we got out of hearing range of the family, Edward aside, I asked her again why she needed to leave. "Ellie. You can tell me, honey," I said gently when she didn't answer me.

She stopped walking, turning slightly toward me. "It's stupid," she said, looking away. "My dad, he was thinking of my eyes, before. He misses them; the red makes him sad. It hurt, I guess. I mean, I understand. But I think of you earlier, and how elated you are that I made it through all of this, and it hurt."

I kissed her softly and pulled her back to me, holding her tightly. "Ellie, it's okay. It's okay to feel that way. Everyone is processing this as best they can, but all you should be worried about is how you are adjusting. But I know that's hard for you, it has to be with all of our thoughts in your mind all of the time." Inwardly I was irritated with my father-in-law. None of us were able to control our thoughts all of the time, or even _most _of the time, but out of all of us I expected him to be able to control such things better. She was clearly devastated by his reaction; even it was only an errant thought.

She turned her head, her eyes focused. "What is it?" I asked, before a light breeze blew through, carrying Edward and Bella's scents. "Ah," I said. "Edward, Bella, hello."

"Hey Ellie," Bella said as they approached slowly.

"Hi Bella. Checking up on me?" Ellie replied sharply, apologizing immediately. "I'm having a rough day," she joked.

Bella reached out to hug my wife. "I know, sweetie. It's okay."

They bantered good-naturedly for a few moments before Ellie questioned her about Nathaniel – she felt bad about leaving him again so soon. Bella assured her that he was fine and that he had been sleeping since we had left for our brief hunt.

"How would you know?" Ellie snarked. "I know you followed us too."

"Guilty," Bella admitted, raising her hands. "But Esme told me. Sorry about that. I only went to keep the boys from interfering too much. I don't think we should have gone at all." She glanced at Edward.

"Yeah, I think Bella is probably right about that," Edward said. "Sorry, Ellie."

"You're just sorry because we didn't care you were there," Ellie replied.

"Well, yeah. That too." Edward pulled his sister into a hug and kissed her head. "How are you doing, kiddo?"

"Fantastic," Ellie replied sadly. "How's Dad? I feel like an ass running out like that."

"He's really angry with himself. He feels guilty. He couldn't stop this from happening, so he's beating himself up pretty badly. He's also upset that he can't just be happy that you're okay, and that he let you see all of that in there."

"Ugh. What a mess," she said.

"Ellie, Christopher is right. You need to worry about getting used to all of this yourself – don't worry so much about the rest of us." Edward hadn't let her go, and I could see Ellie was trying to pull away. I didn't realize what was going on a first until the potent aroma hit me. Humans, several of them, headed this way on foot. _Fuck_, I thought.

"Edward, what –" Ellie stopped short; she smelled it too. I met Edward's eyes just a half second before Ellie started to struggle against his hold, her instincts driving her to hunt the humans that were about to cross our path. I clamped my hands down on her shoulders, reminding myself that I would not hurt her using every ounce of strength I have to keep her still.

_Edward,_ I thought, _we need to get her out of here. _He shook his head infinitesimally; the approaching co-eds were too close to move her now. All we could do was restrain her and try to keep her quiet.

"Ellie," Edward said in a cool, commanding tone. She continued to thrash against our combined hold. "Stop it. Stop it now." He didn't speak aloud again, but the look of fierce concentration on his face as he stared at his sister told me he was still communicating to her, she hissed at him in response. I clapped a hand over her mouth.

_Listen to him Ellie,_ I thought. _We love you; you will be okay. I love you, I won't let anything happen to you. _She took in a deep breath and I felt her relax ever so slightly.

"Oh god," she cried. "Oh god, what is _wrong_ with me?"

_Edward,_ I thought relieved that her rational thought was returning, _let me take her. _He loosened his grip so that I could turn Ellie around and hold her against me, his hands moving to her shoulders to make sure she couldn't escape. I rocked her gently. "Shh baby. You're okay, you're not going to do anything," I said softly. "We won't let you." _I promise._

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**A/N: This is the last chapter that parallels Take Me As I Am. There are changes coming! **


	4. Nine Months

Chapter 3. Nine Months.

I set my book down beside me and glanced down at my watch. 2:04 am. I smiled to myself and reached over absently to stroke Nathaniel's hair. It had been nine months exactly now since Eleanor awoke as a vampire. Just over forty-eight hours prior had marked nine months since the birth of our son, who was sleeping soundly beside me in the dark room. I glanced out the window as the moonlight spilled in through the parted curtains and reached over to pick up my phone, dialing the first saved number.

It went straight to voicemail, as I expected. Ellie was hunting with Alice and Bella, and she wouldn't turn her phone back on until she called me to tell me they were on their way back home.

_You've reached Eleanor Dawling. I can't take your call right now. Please leave a message. _"Hey baby," I said quietly into the phone after the beep. "I just noticed the time and wanted to tell you I love you. I hope you girls are having a good time."

"Daddy?" a small voice said from my right. I looked down and Nathaniel was facing me, rubbing his eyes. I slid down to lie beside him, draping my arm across him.

"Shh, go back to sleep," I whispered. I kissed his forehead and ran my hand gently through his hair as he rearranged himself under the covers. When I was certain he had gone back to sleep, I sat up again and leaned back against the headboard, thinking back through the last nine months.

Despite Ellie's fears about being a "newborn," she had done remarkably well. She and I were able to make regular public outings now. Her tolerance for close contact with humans was increasing by the day, and with it her confidence. She told me recently that when Edward decided to pursue Bella, he determined that conquering the desire for the blood was "mind over matter," and that she was starting to understand what he meant. Of course, she hadn't encountered anyone that appealed to her quite like Bella's scent had to Edward, and I hoped for her sake that she never did.

It was no surprise to me that Ellie was excelling beyond her bravest expectations, but I was admittedly biased in my opinions. Nothing, however, impressed me more than her grace and beauty as a mother. I smiled down at my sleeping son; grateful for my perfect recall of every moment I had spent with him since his birth, and for the added memories that Ellie was able to share with me through her mental gift. It pained me that his childhood would be so brief, but his life had already been filled with so much love and joy surrounded by his doting extended family.

As I reflected for the millionth time over the many unexpected joys that have occurred in my life since the day I met Ellie, my phone lit up next to me, silently alerting me to an incoming call. I smiled as I read the name on the screen and ran my finger across the screen to accept the call.

"Hey ba– " I started to say but was cut off swiftly by the voice on the other end of the line.

"Christopher, it's Bella," my sister-in-law said in a rush. I could hear Ellie crying in the background, and I felt whatever color was left in my face drain out of it.

"Bella? What's happened?" I asked. I was already standing in the living room before the words left my mouth, and not a half-second later, the rest of the family stood around me, staring with rapt attention.

"Chris, it happened so fast, we couldn't stop her," Bella gasped.

"Where are you?" I growled.

She told me roughly where they were and I was immediately out the door, running full speed to them. I didn't ask Bella for details, but I understood the subtext from what she said. Ellie attacked a human, and from the sound her sobbing she was thoroughly devastated. I cursed myself for not insisting that someone else go with them; for not going _myself_. I had rarely let Ellie out of my sight since her change, as much for my own sanity after nearly losing her as to keep her from doing something she would regret forever.

"Christopher." Jasper was on my heels, and Carlisle on his. "What happened?"

I didn't slow down as I answered him. "I'm not sure exactly, but I think Ellie attacked someone." I glanced back just long enough to see Carlisle blanche. I stopped suddenly, whirling around to face my them.

"Listen, I think you guys should wait at the house," I said. I turned and kept running; I needed to get to my wife. I could smell their trail now; it was relatively fresh. I was getting close.

"Christopher," Carlisle spoke, still behind me.

"Carlisle, I mean it," I said, irritated now. "She's not going to want to face you, let me talk to her first. Please." I stopped running again so that I could look at him directly. "There is nothing that will hurt her more than disappointing you. _Please_. If she hears you coming she might take off."

He nodded, his face stricken.

"Thank you. I will bring her home as soon as I can."

"Chris," Jazz said softly. "Let me come at least. I've screwed up more as a Cullen then almost everyone else put together. I can help."

I glared at him for a moment, but nodded in assent before taking off again. It wasn't long before I crossed their scents again, stronger now. I could smell the human now too, and I swallowed roughly as the scent confirmed what I knew had happened. I had still been hoping irrationally that I had been wrong.

I could hear her crying still, and my heart broke for her instantly.

"Thank god," Alice breathed as she saw us coming.

"Ellie!" I cried as I dropped to my knees beside her. She collapsed into my lap, sobbing uncontrollably. "Oh Ellie, I'm so sorry, baby. I'm so sorry. It will be okay," I murmured as I folded myself over her, holding on to her as tightly as I could. I rocked her gently, holding her and speaking softly to her for hours. Bella sat beside us, stroking Ellie's hair. Jasper sat back and let her feel her emotions. I could tell though that he was struggling not to calm her using his abilities.

Finally, her cries quieted, and she slowly sat up. She sat back and pulled her knees to her chest, dropping her head in her hands.

"Ellie," said Jasper. "Ellie, darling, it's going to be all right. Trust me."

"It's not," she moaned, her voice muffled.

_Ellie,_ I thought. _Look at me, please. _She looked up at me, cringing as my eyes met hers. I realized she was seeing the red in her eyes through my mind. I cupped her face in my hands and place a gentle kiss on her lips.

"I love you," I said simply. "We all love you. It will be okay." She squeezed her eyes shut and I pulled her to me, my hand holding the side of her face, her head buried between my neck and shoulder. As I rocked her and rubbed her back, I felt her thoughts break through into my mind.

She thought back to when the three of them left the previous evening. I could hear their laughter in her memory as the three sisters teased each other and made jokes at the expense of their respective husbands, and I smiled in spite of myself at the sound of her laughter ringing in my ears. She skipped ahead to around midnight.

_Ellie pulled out her phone, waiting for it to turn on. _

"_Eleanor," barked Alice. "What are you doing?" _

"_Just checking," Ellie said as she swiped to the main menu, looking for messages._

"_Ellie, they're fine," Bella said, grinning. "Christopher can handle Nathaniel."_

_Ellie giggled. "I know _that_. I was more worried about Chris honestly. I'm sure he's fine, but after I…changed…he would worry so much being away from me even for a little while. I don't want him to be anxious."  
_

_Bella smiled sympathetically. "I completely understand, but honey, he will be fine." Bella took her phone, switched it off and handed it to Alice._

"_Now," Alice said with a grin. "Are you two hungry or what?"_

_They took off again, running for another hour or two until they were just east of the Adirondack Mountains. They caught the sent of a pair of black bears getting too close to the highway and took off, Bella and Alice taking them down swiftly. Ellie headed slightly south of their trajectory, after the scent of a bobcat, but before she attacked, the wind shifted. The breeze carried a new scent that overpowered the drive to continue on toward her previous target._

_Without any conscious thought behind her decision, she swiftly changed direction, charging toward her new prey. The venom burned in her throat as she got closer. She leapt, landing directly in the path of her target, an elderly woman who had clearly wandered much too far from safety. _

_A snarl ripped from Ellie's chest as she sunk her teeth into the woman's throat, draining her quickly. As her body dropped to the ground, lifeless and pale, Ellie realized what she had done. She dropped to her knees, sobbing over her unknown victim's mangled body. _

"_ELLIE!" Bella cried, catching up to her at last. "Oh Ellie, Ellie, we're so sorry! We didn't know." Bella tried to take Ellie in her arms but Ellie shoved her away, stronger now with human blood in her system. Bella flew backward, shock etched on her face as she hit a tree nearby. Ellie was running again, Alice tearing after her as quickly as she could._

"_Ellie!" Alice cried from behind her. "Wait! Please!"_

_Ellie pushed harder, taking three steps for every two of her sisters behind her. She could hear Alice pulling out a phone. Suddenly, everything went silent; she couldn't hear Alice or Bella's thoughts anymore. Momentarily disoriented from being cut off from her extra sense, she slowed just enough. Bella leapt and tackled Ellie to the ground, holding her down long enough for Alice to reach them and help restrain the now-enraged vampire._

"_What the fuck are you doing?!" Ellie screamed. "Let me go!"_

"_No way, sis," Bella said, shoving Ellie into the ground with a knee to her back. "You need to calm down. Everything will be fine, but you need to stay put for a minute."_

_Ellie roared and threw her sister off her back. "CALM DOWN?! YOU WANT ME TO CALM DOWN?!" Ellie dropped back to her knees, her head in her hands. "I killed her, Bella. She's dead. I DID THAT. I didn't even know what was happening. It was like a whole other person took over my body. I didn't know what I was doing," she moaned, sobs ripping from her body now. Alice took Ellie in her arms, throwing the cell phone to Bella. _

"_Call Christopher. NOW," Alice ordered._

My vision cleared as Ellie's thoughts faded from my mind. "I'm a monster, Chris," she whispered so quietly I almost didn't hear her.

"No, honey, you're not. I'm sorry that this happened to you," I said softly.

"Does Daddy know?" she asked in a small voice, just above the whisper she used before.

"Yes," I answered truthfully. "Or at least, he suspects based on what I understood from Bella's phone call."

"He won't forgive me for this," she said.

"Nonsense," I retorted. "He's forgiven everyone else for their transgressions, why would you be different? Sweetheart, this is, unfortunately, to be expected. That you've gone this long with out something like this happening is nothing short of amazing."

"_He's _never killed anyone," she replied. "_Bella's_ never killed anyone."

I sighed, holding her face in my hands again. "Eleanor. Do you have any idea how many people _I've_ killed?"

She shook her head.

"Neither do I," I said, though this was only partially true. Not counting anyone I may have killed as a human fighting in a war, I had perfect recall of everything I had done as a vampire. But I had never taken the time to remember all of my victims at once, so I didn't have an exact number in my mind. However, I knew the number would be astronomical given that I'd spent nearly two-and-a-half centuries hunting humans. "But I promise you, it's probably more than anyone else in your family."

"That doesn't make this okay," she said, her eyes narrowing.

"No one said it does, Ellie," Alice piped up. "He's just trying to give you a little perspective. Like it or not, you're a vampire and this kind of thing happens sometimes. It easily could have been me or Bella who went after the bobcat, and then we would have caught the human's scent just like you did."

Ellie opened her mouth to argue, but I placed a finger over her lips. "Love, I know this doesn't make you feel better right now. I understand that, but no one is mad at you. Everyone is worried, and they want to help."

"What am I going to tell Nathaniel? He will see…" she whispered, covering her face with her hands.

"Don't worry about that, honey," I said. "I can talk to him first, if you want. He loves you, you are his whole world."

She dropped her hands, but still wouldn't meet my eyes, but I could see a faint smile on her lips at the mention of our son.

"Come on," I said, holding my hand out. "Let's get back. He's probably going to be awake soon and he will want to see you."

Ellie finally agreed to make the journey back to the house. Jasper instructed Alice and Bella to go ahead while the three of us made a slow run back. As we ran, he sent calming waves toward Ellie periodically, trying to ensure that she wouldn't decide to bolt away from us. I hated that he was using his gift on her, and I knew that if not for the cooperation induced by his influence she would be protesting his manipulations.

"It's for her own good, Chris," Jasper said quietly as we ran, sensing my discomfort.

"I know," I replied. Ellie slowed to a walk and grabbed my hand. I didn't need Jasper's ability to sense her anxiety as we got closer to the house. I squeezed her hand. "It's going to be okay," I said to her again.

She nodded absently, staring straight ahead. The sound of footsteps approaching made her stop dead. I could feel her tugging against my hold on her hand and I tightened my grip automatically.

"Who is it?" I asked her.

"My father," she said numbly. I looked over at Jasper.

"I'm all over it," he said. As much as I hated the need for Jasper's interference, I knew that was probably the only thing keeping Ellie from running away again right now. She trembled and looked at the ground as Carlisle came into view. He approached slowly, holding his hands out toward his daughter.

"Ellie," he said quietly. "It's okay, honey. I'm not angry with you. No one else is, either." He didn't come any closer for several moments, looking at her with a calm, gentle expression. I didn't know what he was telling her, or if she was responding to him. She dropped to her knees suddenly, crying again. I dropped down beside her with an arm around her shoulders.

"Daddy?" she sobbed, meeting Carlisle's gaze for the first time. He rushed over to his daughter, practically knocking into me as I scrambled to move so that he could take her in his arms. She sobbed against him as he pulled her into his lap, holding her like a child, stroking her hair as he rocked her gently. He quietly shushed her in her ear, but said nothing else out loud. I wished Edward had come with him so I could ask what he was saying.

I went to stand by Jasper and we both turned to face toward the house, giving Carlisle and his youngest daughter privacy. I glanced over at Jasper. "Are you still…?" I asked vaguely. He knew what I meant.

"No," he answered. "She's not going to run. I don't know what Carlisle said to her, obviously, but when she dropped to the ground it was like the walls around her dropped too. She's grieving now, for the woman and for herself, I think."

I swallowed roughly. I realized for the first time that this was truly the hardest part about how we lived, the value we placed on human life. Ellie had never hunted humans as most of us had at some point, and she had no idea what it felt like to be responsible for _ending_ a life with her own hands. This was different than the grief she felt over the death of her mother, and the guilt that followed her for so many years after. For the first time, she truly knew what she was capable of and I was sure it terrified her.

A phone began to ring, interrupting my train of thought. Realizing that it wasn't Jasper's or mine, I looked behind me and saw Carlisle holding his out for one of us to answer. I took it from him.

"Hello?" I said quietly.

"Christopher," I heard Esme's voice say on the other end. "How is she? Is Carlisle with her?"

"Yes, they're both here with Jasper and me. She's…" I paused, not sure what to say. I didn't know what was going through Ellie's mind. "She's upset," I finally said. That was a huge understatement.

Esme sight sadly on the other end, I could picture her holding her first in front of her mouth, worried for her child. "Should I come out there? I only sent Carlisle because I didn't want to overwhelm her. I know you told him to wait, but he was beside himself so I made him go." She didn't want me to be upset with my father-in-law I realized. I smiled a little.

"Don't worry about that, Esme. You were right to send him." I pulled the phone away from my mouth slightly. "Carlisle, do you think Esme should come out?"

He glanced up at me as he considered this. "Ellie," he said. "Do you want your mom to come talk to you?"

Ellie nodded, her eyes still closed.

"Esme? Can you come?" I said into the phone.

"I'm on my way," she said. I could hear the wind whipping around her as she ended the call.

* * *

Shortly after Esme reached us and took Carlisle's place holding their daughter, the three of them decided to go for another hunt. Carlisle told Ellie that while he knew she was probably not thirsty now, it would, if nothing else, give her a chance to recover some of her confidence.

Before they left us, she ran over and hugged me tightly. "Thank you Chris," she whispered before kissing me. "I love you."

I kissed her back, holding her face in my hands. "I love you too, always. I will talk to Nathaniel, okay?"

She nodded. "Tell him I love him, okay?"

I smiled. "Of course." I squeezed her hands and then she was gone. Jasper and I walked back to the house slowly, not speaking.

The house was fairly quiet when we got back. Nathaniel was sitting on Renesmee's lap, who sat between Edward and Bella. Together they were watching Emmett and Jacob play an advanced copy of Madden 25 that Rosalie had managed to snag as a gift for Emmett.

All eyes snapped to my face as we crept into the living room. Nathaniel smiled broadly and hopped off of Nessie's lap to run over to me.

"Hi Daddy!" he cried, throwing his arms around my neck as I stooped down to pick him up.

"Hey kiddo," I said, kissing his forehead.

"Where's Mama?" he asked, his expression turning serious. "Uncle Edward said there was an accident when she and Aunt Alice and Aunt Bella were hunting."

"Oh, he did, did he?" I said glaring at Edward, who held his hands up, palms out toward me.

"Sorry Chris, he was asking a lot of questions," Edward answered. I sighed. _No worries,_ I thought to him. _Sorry for not getting back sooner. _

"How is she?" he asked. I reviewed everything that happened from the time I got there, including the memories she showed me, though I assumed Alice had already shown him that. His eyes widened as he watched what happened from Ellie's memory, and his expression darkened when he saw Bella go flying.

Bella was watching him intently, and looked as if she guessed what he was seeing. "Edward, don't be mad at her. I'm fine. She wasn't herself. She was so upset," she said gently, her hand on her husband's arm. His expression softened slightly and he nodded, though he still looked irritated. I turned my attention back to my son.

"Let's take a walk Nathaniel, okay?" I set him down and took his hand, leading him out the back door. Once we neared the trees, I pulled him up on my back and we took off running. I wasn't going to take him far, but I wanted a little distance from prying ears while I talked to him about what happened. I stopped running and took my son from off my back. His face was bright and carefree, exhilaration colored his expression. He loved it when we ran with him.

I sat down against a tree and placed him in my lap, his legs perpendicular to mine so that I could see his face. "Nathaniel," I said and his eyes flashed to my face. "When your grandfather takes you hunting, what does he tell you?"

Nathaniel smiled. He loved hunting with Carlisle, and I was always amazed at how my son listened with rapt attention to everything his grandfather said. "He tells me about how other vampires don't like to hunt animals, they think it's strange that we don't eat people."

I nodded. "Right. And do you know why we eat the way we do?"

"Because we don't want to hurt people," he answered solemnly.

I kissed his head. "Right again." I sighed, not sure how to have this conversation. I thought about telling him a bit about me – how I hunted humans before meeting Ellie. As soon as the consideration went through my mind, my phone buzzed.

_Good idea – A._

I smiled as I read the message, grateful for my meddling sister. I decided to thank her, knowing she would see.

"Nathaniel," I said, turning my attention back to my son. "Did you know that I used to…hunt humans?" I cringed.

His little head whipped around to face me fully, eyes wide. "You _did_?"

I nodded. "I did; for a very long time. It wasn't until I met your mom that I even knew there was another way to feed," I explained honestly. He was quiet for a moment.

"What about Mama?" he asked. My son was not a mind reader, but he certainly was perceptive. I could tell he knew where we were headed in the conversation.

"Well, your Mama was a lot like you when she grew up. Your grandparents taught her from when she was about your age to hunt like you do."

"She's different now though," he said.

"She's more like me now, yes."

"Before she was like Renesmee. And me?" he asked in a small voice.

"Yes," I answered.

"Daddy?" he asked.

"Yes?"

"Why did she have to change? Was that my fault?"

Shit.

"Nathaniel Masen Dawling, it was absolutely _not your fault_," I said seriously. "Your mother was…sick, after you were born. Your Aunt Alice told us that she would be okay, but that she had to become more like me first." I sighed, rubbing my eyes trying to figure out how to get back on track. Nathaniel spoke up before I had a chance to continue.

"Mama hunted a human today?" he asked quietly. Perceptive indeed.

I smoothed his hair back from his eyes. "She did."

"Is she coming home soon? I want to tell her that it's okay. Uncle Emmett said accidents happen."

I smiled at my son, amazed by his simple yet perfect words. "She will appreciate that. I think your grandparents will bring her home very soon. I expect that they are telling her that very thing right now."

* * *

Later that night, Ellie, Carlisle and Esme were home. Esme said that Ellie had wanted to be back in time for Nathaniel's bedtime, and she was upstairs with him now, reading to him and tucking him in.

The rest of us sat downstairs, minus Emmett and Rosalie, talking quietly amongst ourselves. Carlisle and Esme didn't offer any details about their hunt with Ellie, and while I was dying to know, I didn't ask. I knew she would tell me if she wanted, and when she was ready.

"She'll be fine, Chris," Edward said quietly.

"Talking about me are you?" I turned and Ellie was standing at the bottom of the stairs, grinning at me. She crossed the room to me quickly and sat in my lap. "I for one, am sick to death of talking about me today," she added.

I chuckled and messed up her hair. "Duly noted. What would you like to talk about?"

"I heard that you were going to thrash Emmett in Madden, has that happened yet?" she asked with a smile.

"Oh really?" I asked her. "No, but I'm game whenever he is."

"Alice will be sorely disappointed when that prediction is proven dead wrong," Emmett called from the garage.

Ellie leaned back against me, playing with my wedding ring. I left her to her thoughts, rubbing her arm as I held her. After several quiet minutes, Ellie's head snapped up, staring at Edward.

"Seriously?" she snapped. "You want to banish me to Denali?"

"Ellie, what?" I asked, confused by her sudden outburst. She didn't answer me.

"Edward?" Bella spoke up. "Out loud please?"

He rolled his eyes. "No one's talking about _banishing_ you Eleanor. You know we're all planning a trip out there in a few weeks, I was just wondering if it was worth suggesting that you guys head out a little early. Give yourself a chance to regroup."

"Don't you think that's a bit of an overreaction, Edward?" I said. _She feels badly enough. Sending her away isn't going to make it better._

"I'm not trying to send her away," he argued. "I honestly thought it might help."

Ellie bit her lip, staring at her brother and her father, who was standing in the doorway, ready to intervene if the argument persisted. "Ellie," I whispered, rubbing her back. "Do you want to go upstairs?"

She nodded, and let me lead her from the room without another word.

* * *

**A/N: What do you think? Review please!**


	5. Road Trip

Chapter 4. Road Trip.

"Maybe he's right," said Ellie.

"Mmm?" I murmured as I shut the door and turned to face her.

"Edward. Maybe we should go early," she clarified, curling herself up on the bed.

"We could do that, if you want. It's entirely up to you," I said. I didn't think it was necessary, but I would do anything to make Ellie feel better, and we would go tonight if she asked.

She smiled up at me from her pillow. "Thank you." She held her hand out to me, and I took it, lying beside her. I brushed her hair behind her ear and gently cupped her face in my hand.

"Hi," I whispered.

"Hi," she answered, her eyes not meeting mine.

With my free hand, I gently traced her lips with my thumb. "Penny for your thoughts?"

Her mouth twitched slightly. "It's been a long day."

I kissed her lightly, holding her face with both hands. "Do you want to talk about it? I mean, I know you showed me…but if you want to talk, I'm here."

She smiled. "I know. Thank you. Thank you for everything you did today, and for what you said to Nathaniel. He was so sweet."

"I was totally flying blind there. This parenting thing…" I shook my head. "He is incredibly perceptive, you know. I know he doesn't hear thoughts, but he seemed to know almost exactly what I was trying to tell him, despite my roundabout attempt to do so."

She smiled. "I know; he showed me." She leaned in and kissed me. I returned her kiss cautiously, expecting her to pull back, but she had other ideas. She locked her arms around my neck and pulled herself against me, forcing my mouth open with hers. I tangled one hand in her hair, holding the back of her head, my other hand pressed against her back. She groaned into my mouth as her tongue probed mine. I started to pull away, worried that maybe this wasn't the best idea after the day she'd had.

Ellie heard this thought in my mind and grabbed my head with both hands, not letting me move. Her answering thought rang out in my mind. _Don't you dare, Dr. Dawling_. I laughed against her lips, rolling so that I was on my back, with her on top of me. _Whatever you say, Mrs. Dawling._

* * *

"Oh my god," gasped Ellie, draped across my chest. I laughed again, hugging her tightly.

"Indeed," I said.

She picked her head up and grinned mischievously at me. "I seem to recall," she said, pausing to draw her tongue over my nipple, "something about licking every inch of you." She punctuated each word with a lap of her tongue over my skin. My eyes rolled back into my head at the sensation.

She sat up slowly, taking one of my hands and pressing her lips to my palm. She lightly trailed her tongue from the center of my hand all the way to my index finger, massaging my hand with her fingers as she repeated the action for my other fingers. She moved on to my other hand, and I groaned at the feeling of her mouth on my skin, combined with the wet heat from her sex against my thigh. As her mouth moved along my forearm, I bent my knee slightly, pushing my leg against her wet skin. My mouth fell slack as she rocked involuntarily over my leg. She bent over me swiftly with her hands on my chest, her mouth almost touching mine. She dragged herself along my thigh slowly, moaning as she did so.

"That," she said, "is cheating." I grinned and moved my leg against her again, my hands moving to her breasts.

Suddenly, she moved, her face hovering over my groin. She took me into her mouth, slowly. She sucked my head into her mouth first, and I moaned as she swirled her tongue rapidly. As she moved down further over my cock, I felt her teeth grazing my shaft lightly.

"Fuuuck," I groaned, tangling my fingers in her hair, my hands holding her head firmly. As her mouth moved faster over me, my hips bucked uncontrollably toward her. "Oh fuck, Ellie." She groaned happily as my head hit the back of her throat repeatedly until finally I couldn't hold back any longer. I held her head tightly so she couldn't move away, and thrust again into her mouth, exploding with a strangled cry. My eyes rolled back again as her tongue continued to move over me, cleaning up everything I gave her.

I opened my eyes to find her face just inches from me, grinning wickedly. "Every inch, huh?" I mumbled to her, a delirious smile on my face.

"So to speak," she replied with a wink. I laughed and pulled her face to mine, kissing her deeply. The smell of me on her breath made me groan. "Problem, Professor?" she asked with a wicked grin.

"Stop it," I gasped, rolling her over so that she was underneath me now. "You are killing me."

* * *

Hours later, Ellie was curled up against my side, her head against my shoulder. Neither of us had spoken for at least an hour, and I was reminded of when she would sleep against me like this.

"I wish I could sleep right now," she said with a sigh, picking from the thoughts in my head.

I smiled and kissed her hair. "I know."

She picked up her head and looked at me. "Actually, I take that back. My dreams would be awful right now."

I lifted my hand to lightly draw my fingers over her cheek. "How are you feeling?" I asked gently.

She bit her lip as she thought, her hair falling down over her shoulder and splaying across my chest.

"I'm not sure," she said. "I just...I failed on so many levels today."

I shook my head but she covered my mouth with her hand before I could speak.

"No, Chris. You asked. This is how I feel," she insisted. Admonished, I nodded and she removed her hand. She opened her mouth to say more, but her breath caught. I sat up, ready to pull her to me if she broke down. She put her hand on my chest. "The woman," she said softly. "What did...I mean, did anyone..." she swallowed and looked away from my face. "Is she still there?"

"No," I answered softly. "Jasper and Emmett took care of...her."

She nodded, and then swiftly turned her head toward the door; I heard footsteps passing by our room. "I need to apologize to Bella," Ellie said softly.

She looked back at me and I raised my arms to hug her and she leaned into me, returning my embrace quickly before climbing out of bed to dress.

I heard Ellie ask Bella to take a walk with her, and after the pair left the house, I decided to get up and head downstairs. The other couples were all locked away in their rooms, and as I descended the stairs, I heard Edward at his piano, tinkering with what sounded like a new composition. I quietly took a seat in the corner of the living room, catching his eye.

_Do you mind?_ I asked him silently. He shook his head. I closed my eyes and listened to the piece, which was starting to take shape. The brooding melody swelled and transitioned to the bridge, which had a lighter feel, but something was missing.

"I know," Edward said in response to my thought. "It's been bothering me for days."

I laughed, remembering frustrated composition students.

"Do you miss it?" he asked as he continued to pick apart the troublesome melody. "Teaching?"

I sighed. "I'd be lying if I said no."

He nodded. "I can't relate directly, of course, but I can only imagine how hard it would be for Carlisle to step away for an extended period of time."

"It was the right decision, don't get me wrong," I said quickly. "Dartmouth was such a fucking disaster for us."

Edward laughed. "That's an understatement."

"I never should have tried to teach where she was enrolled. All the other bullshit from that mess aside, I mean."

"You did it at Cornell," he commented as he stopped playing and looked at me inquisitively.

"Briefly," I countered, smiling to myself as I thought of my first few weeks with Ellie. "It would have gotten complicated if we had stayed; or maybe not. I don't know. I feel bad now that she never got to finish a degree. It might be a while before that's possible for her."

"Maybe not," Edward said with a shrug. "She's never seemed that concerned about that anyway. She's happy supporting you, like Esme does for Carlisle."

"I know. And if that makes her happy than that's fine by me, don't mistake me." I knew that she and Esme had discussed exactly that several times during my tenure at the University of Washington. I once came home and found the two of them giggling like schoolgirls comparing the oddities of the colleagues of their respective spouses. I just never wanted Ellie to think that she had to sideline any of her own interests because of my work. "I don't _need_ her to have a degree. I don't want to come off as a snobby academic."

Edward chuckled. "You didn't. But I understand what you mean."

"Anyway, to your original question, yes but I'm okay with stepping away for a while. I'm enjoying teaching Nathaniel. And maybe when things calm down, Ellie can have a chance to do her own thing, if she wants."

Edward turned back to the keys, still struggling to find the right progression. "He's quite talented," Edward said of Nathaniel. "Not that I would expect any less, given that he has the two of you for parents. We played together earlier while you were gone. He reminded me of Renesmee, the way he could visualize the sounds in his mind."

I smiled. "He amazes me daily."

Edward smiled back at me for a moment, nodding his agreement. "I completely understand," he said, looking back down at the keys. "Listen. I'm sorry about earlier. I wasn't trying to banish her, at all. I shouldn't have let her hear that though, it was stupid of me."

I shook my head. "Don't worry about it. I think she's considering it, to be honest. I don't know that it will really help, but if it's what she needs then that's what we will do."

"You two could go out on your own, Bella and I could come up in a few days with Nathaniel if you'd like," he offered. "The invitation from Tanya was pretty open-ended, I don't think they would mind any of us coming a little earlier than planned. We can call her in the morning and work out the details."

"Really?" I asked, not sure if we were ready to travel that far away from Nathaniel.

"Sure," he said. "It's nice having another little one around. He's no trouble at all. We probably wouldn't be able to wrestle him away from Ness and Jake anyway."

I chuckled, briefly wondering if they had made any decisions about having one of their own and cringing when I realized I hadn't stopped that thought fast enough. Edward sighed.

"Sorry, ignore me," I muttered.

"No, it's fine. I don't know the answer though. I know they both would love to have a baby, but given recent events they're understandably nervous."

I nodded, looking down at my hands and fidgeting with my ring. "Definitely understandable," I said softly.

Edward picked his head up, looking toward the front door. "They're almost back," he said, a smile breaking out across his face. We both stood as the door open and Ellie and Bella breezed in, arm-in-arm.

Ellie separated from her sister and came to stand beside me. I linked my arm around her waist and kissed her cheek. "Hi," I said.

"Hi," she answered, smiling brightly.

Bella greeted Edward with a quiet smile and a kiss, pulling back and playing with his collar. "So, I kind of had an idea while Ellie and I were out," she said.

"Oh?" he asked.

"Yeah. I thought maybe we could watch Nathaniel for a couple of days and the two of them could head out to Tanya's ahead of us. We would follow later in the week and the rest of the family can come out whenever."

Edward and I burst out laughing together, and Ellie and Bella looked back and forth at us like we were insane.

"What?" Ellie asked, confusion etched on her face.

* * *

Forty-eight hours later, Ellie and I were nearing the Canadian border en route to Alaska to visit the Denali clan. After much deliberation, we decided to take Edward and Bella up on their offer to bring Nathaniel later in the week, giving us some childfree time to visit with our extended family. I looked over at my wife, who was staring absent-mindedly out the passenger side window. I reached over to place my hand on her knee.

"You okay?" I asked her.

"Yeah," she said quietly. "I miss Nathaniel." I smiled and squeezed her knee.

"Me too," I said. I was looking forward to some time together though.

"Me too," she echoed, smiling at me.

"Ellie, we will be at the border soon," I said, reaching into the glove compartment. "You ought to put these in, just in case." I held out two small containers, each holding a brown contact lens.

She nodded with a grimace, taking the lenses and forcing them into her eyes. She blinked several times before wordlessly handing our passports to me as we approached the border. I opened the window as we slowed to a stop, handing the passports over to the border agent.

"Evening, sir; ma'am," the uniformed man said, glancing into the car before looking over our documents. Before we left, we had taken care to make sure Edward and Bella had papers for Nathaniel. Jasper helped us create both a passport for him as five-year-old Nathaniel Dawling, along with an affidavit allowing him to travel internationally with his aunt and uncle, but also a passport and birth certificate that named him as a Cullen and listed Edward and Bella as his parents. Alice was not sure yet which would be easier, but we knew that crossing a border with a child could be tricky.

"Good evening," I replied, fixing a friendly smile in my face, careful not to show too much teeth.

"Where are you folks headed?" he asked.

"Anchorage," I replied.

He nodded and handed our passports back. "Drive safely," he said before waving us through.

"I hope they don't give Edward and Bella any trouble," Ellie said nervously as we sped up along the Canadian highway.

"They won't," I said. "Alice will tell them the best option. It will be fine. Remember we crossed with Renesmee once without a problem." I recalled for her a similar trip that we made from Forks when Renesmee was only three. Her parents had provided us the same options for documentation. Alice had decided then that we ought to pose as her parents to be safe. Ellie and Nessie looked enough alike and we cleared without an issue.

"True," she said. "Ugh."

"What?" I asked.

"These fucking contacts," she mumbled as she removed the offending lenses from her eyes. "They drive me crazy."

"Yeah, they are annoying," I said with a chuckle. We drove in a comfortable silence for a couple of hours. I was trying to make the most of the abandoned highways before the daylight hours slowed our progress. I knew Ellie was listening carefully for police. As I drove, I remembered the first trip to Denali with Ellie and her family. I saw Ellie smile from the corner of my eye as she saw the recollection in my mind.

"I was just thinking about that as well," she said softly. She reached over and combed her fingers through my hair, scratching my scalp lightly. "I am really looking forward to spending some time with you," she said, her voice low and husky.

I let out a hiss at the sound of her voice. "You know that in Denali we won't be totally alone right?" I asked with a low chuckle. "We can't just disappear for days."

She grinned. "I know. Esme would kill us for being so rude."

I shuddered. I learned quickly not to mess with the Cullen matriarch. "I think I have an idea to avoid that potentially dangerous situation," I said with a mischievous grin.

"Oh, yeah?" She asked, turning toward me with an eyebrow arched. "What are you keeping from me mister?"

"You will see," I said. She rolled her eyes, but I could see she was excited to find out what the big secret was, and amused that I'd been able to keep my plans under wraps. To her credit she was trying to be a good sport.

We drove on through the day, and in the dark of night we made it to the Province of British Columbia. If we continued on at this speed we'd be in Alaska in merely a few hours, but with the help of Carlisle, and Esme, I'd made other arrangements.

As I exited the highway, Ellie fixed what I supposed she meant to be a patient smile on her face. I could tell, however, that she was tired of waiting and she was poking around in my mind to see if I would give anything away in my thoughts.

"Not a chance, cheater," I said, reaching over to mess up her hair. I took her hand wove my fingers through hers, bringing her hand to my lips. "We're almost there anyhow," I murmured, smiling at her.

A half hour later, we wound up a rambling drive that was easily a mile off the main road, coming to a stop in front of a sprawling chalet-style house with a magnificent view of the Coast Mountains in the distance behind it. I knew that the accommodations were entirely overboard for our brief interlude; I had only planned for us to stay for three or four nights before heading up to Denali, but Carlisle said Esme insisted that I book the house.

"Holy shit, Christopher," Ellie said as we got out of the car. "Did my mother find this for you?"

I laughed. "Indirectly. I asked Carlisle for suggestions and Esme instructed him accordingly." I grabbed our bags from the trunk and walked over to Ellie, holding out my other hand. "Shall we?"

She smiled and took my hand and we walked up the front steps. The caretakers had opened the house shortly before we arrived, and at my request, the outdoor hot tub was filled and steaming. Ellie looked around with wide eyes as we walked in from the foyer. "This place is gorgeous," she breathed.

I pulled her back to me, holding her tightly with an arm around her waist and brushing her hair back with my other hand.

"No," I murmured. "_You_ are gorgeous." I bent down to kiss her and she melted against me, stretching up to lock her arms around my neck. I stood up straighter, holding her off the ground with one arm, still holding her face to mine with the other. After several minutes I set her back on her feet, earning an adorable pout. "Come on," I said with a soft laugh, taking her hand and leading her out to the expansive deck.

As we stood beside the steaming tub, I stepped slightly behind Ellie and put my hands on her waist, drawing my tongue along the curve of her neck. She drew a shaky breath and arched her neck slightly giving me better access, and I made the circuit again, leaving hungry kisses along her skin.

I ran my fingers along the waistline of her skirt, untucking the delicate blouse that Alice had insisted she wear for the trip. I slowly slid my hands along her stomach before reaching around to unbutton her shirt. I pulled the thin material from her arms, my tongue tracing the slope of her bare shoulders as I unhooked her bra. She turned to face me, her hand reaching up to touch my face before her lips found mine. Her hands moved to my shirt, removing it quickly. I groaned as she dragged her fingers along my chest before her arms encircled my waist. Her hands traveled up my back to my shoulders, her nails scratching my skin. I growled slightly into her open mouth, dropping my hands to the zipper of her skirt.

"I love you so much," she whispered against my lips. "I almost can't breathe."

"I guess it's a good thing you don't need to then," I answered, sliding her skirt off her waist and cupping her ass. She stepped out of the skirt and kicked off her shoes, stripping off the rest of my clothes quickly. I scooped her up and stepped into the blazing hot water and pulled her into my lap as I sat down. I took her face in my hands and she placed her hands over mine.

"You did good," she said with a smile.

I chuckled. "Well, I figured if we have the opportunity to spend some time alone, we ought to do exactly that." Ellie put her hands on my shoulders and hoisted herself up to reposition herself so that she was straddling my lap. Her eyes met mine and she slowly lowered herself over me, holding my gaze as she took me in. My eyes fluttered as she moved over me, and she returned her hand to my face to remind me to keep my eyes on her.

She smiled at me with her hands in my hair. Her breath came in pants as she moved faster, and she pulled me closer to her, my chest against hers. She brought her lips back to mine, and my hands tangled in her hair, holding the back of her head and keeping her face to mine. She moaned as she moved harder against me, her arms trembled as her orgasm got closer. I dropped one hand to her ass as I started thrusting up into her, her frantic pants unraveling me. We moaned loudly as we came together, our cries echoing into the mountains around us. She laid her head down on my shoulder, our bodies still connected. I gently twisted her hair and moved it over one of her shoulders and wrapped my arms around her, drawing my fingers up and down her spine.

"How long did you plan for us to stay here?" she asked quietly, leaving kisses along my neck.

I shrugged, her head moving with my shoulder. "A few days. It's what, Monday now? Edward and Bella are planning to leave on Friday with Nathaniel, and it will take them a couple days to get to Alaska, so we could stay a few nights and then head out to Denali to hang out with your cousins before they get there, or we stay here longer and leave for Alaska on Friday or Saturday. Or they could come here first if you want. We have plenty of flexibility in terms of how long we stay."

"Mmm," she murmured. She lifted herself off of me, moving to sit beside me. She pulled my arm over her shoulders and linked her fingers through mine. Leaning back and staring out at the vista before us, she sighed. "I think this might be one of my favorite places now."

I kissed her head. "I agree," I said, thinking to myself that anywhere she was would qualify. She kissed my cheek for that. I wondered idly whether the owners of this house would be willing to part with it sooner than they planned. The broker that Esme directed me to make these arrangements hinted that they were interested in selling the property and planned to list it soon. I could easily make it worth their while to move up their timetable.

She giggled and looked up at me. "You cannot be serious."

I grinned at her and shrugged.

She shook her head and snuggled closer to me. "I love you."

_I love you too,_ I thought as I kissed her lips. I put my forehead against hers and held my hand to her cheek, stroking my thumb against her skin.

"So," she whispered. "How long do you think this water stays hot for?"

"I was assured that the heater for the tub was top-of-the-line. From what they told me, we should be able to sit here until sunrise if we want."

"You really did your homework," she said, turning to face me with wide eyes. I grinned at her. I'd actually been planning on this little trip all along, only originally Nathaniel would have been with us and it would have been a few weeks later when the family originally planned to visit the Denali clan. Ellie saw this in my mind and smacked my chest playfully. "Sneak."

"Hey, you have no idea how difficult it is to plan something like this when at any moment it could be picked out of my brain by my telepathic wife." She splashed water at me, laughing.

"Well thank you for arranging this," she said quietly, settling herself back against my side, under my arm. "It's so beautiful here. And so quiet."

"I know. I thought you might appreciate that. The hunting here should be pretty good too, so close to the mountains." She tensed at the mention of hunting, and I rubbed her arm reflexively. "We don't have to hunt here. I'm fine to wait until we get to Denali if you refer," I backtracked quickly.

She shook her head, eyes closed. "No, that's not it. We should go while we are here," she said. "Or rather, _I_ should anyway."

"Ellie," I said. "I didn't mean it like that. That was stupid of me to say," I said. I had been thinking back to my original plans for this visit, but I should have realized the association she would immediately make.

She turned to face me, reaching up to touch my face. "Shh," she whispered, brushing my lips with hers. "You didn't say anything wrong. It's fine."

We were quiet for a long time after that, until the sky started to brighten ever so slightly. "So," she said. "You didn't really buy this place, did you?"

I laughed. "Not yet. I haven't ruled it out." I saw her roll her eyes, but she was smiling brightly. "Besides, I know the owners are planning to list it within the next few weeks. I could make their lives _much_ easier."

"Very altruistic of you," she said with a giggle.

"What do you think, though?"

"About what?"

"Buying this place. Or someplace like it."

"I guess. I mean, it's huge—"

"That's what she said," I quipped.

"Really? Are you Emmett now?" she said with a smirk.

"Good lord no," I cringed. "Anyway, if we don't Esme might snatch it up from under us. She was this close," I pinched my thumb and forefinger together, "to booking her and Carlisle here instead of showing it to me."

"Esme has a lovely cabin in Wyoming. Tell her to back off," she answered with a laugh.

I looked at my wife incredulously. "I will tell Esme to 'back off' when I want to be dismembered," I said. "But wait. Does that mean you want the house?"

Ellie grinned at me. "Can't hurt to ask, right?"

As promised, the water in the hot tub was still scalding as the sun rose and we watched as the line of mountains before us grew brighter. The hours we spent together in the water were surprisingly chaste. We relaxed together, talking, joking, and relishing the peaceful intimacy between us. The stress and tension that had been emanating from Ellie's entire being over the last few days seemed to dissipate almost entirely, which was exactly what I had hoped for. I hated to see her suffer, and seeing the untroubled smile on her face made my silent heart swell.

I had stretched my arms across the walls of the hot tub, leaning my head back and staring at the brightening sky. I sighed as Ellie drew her fingers along the muscles in my arms; I could feel her eyes on my face.

"What?" I asked with a quiet laugh.

"What do you mean, what?" she answered. I opened one eye to look at her. She was grinning playfully.

"I could feel you staring at me."

The water sloshed around her as she shrugged and moved closer to kiss my cheek. "Thank you, Chris," she breathed against my ear. "For bringing me here," she paused and took a deep breath. I picked my head up and studied her face closely, watching her chew her lip. I reached out to touch her lips with my forefinger, urging her to relax.

"Shh," I whispered, pulling her back to me. "What do you say we go see the _inside_ of the house?" I suggested, hoping this would distract her. I had spotted a piano in one of the enormous sitting rooms. She picked her head up.

"Will you play for me?" she whispered.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you for reading! Please review!**


	6. Serenades and Suppositions

Chapter 5. Serenades and Suppositions.

"Cheater," I said with a smile. "I was going to ask you the same thing." She rolled her eyes but didn't say no, so I stood and held my hand out to help her out of the tub, even though I knew she didn't need the assistance.

There was an outdoor cabinet full of huge, thick towels, so I grabbed a couple, wrapping one around my waist and holding the other out for Ellie to wrap around herself. We picked up our bags and headed up to the master suite.

"Christ," Ellie muttered. "You could fit our whole Seattle apartment in here."

I laughed as I found a pair of boxers and pulled them on. I turned around and noticed Ellie had opted for a thoroughly alluring lace top with matching shorts that were most certainly _very_ short. She grinned as she took in the look on my face, and with a faux-coy expression, quickly grabbed a matching robe and put it on, tying loosely enough that I could still see most of her taunting attire.

"Did Alice pack that?" I asked, not quite able to force my eyes to look away from her body.

She shook her head. "Nope." She turned in a slow circle, for me. "You like?"

"You know I do," I said in a low voice. "I hope you have another set like it, I can't promise it won't get ripped off of you at some point."

She laughed and walked past me, her breasts brushing my chest as she stood on her tiptoes to kiss my cheek. "Just try not to destroy it, please. I like this one too."

I groaned and pulled her back against me.

"I thought you wanted to see the rest of the house?" she asked, blinking up at me with eyes wide.

"Evil. You are _evil_," I growled. I let her go, smacking her ass before I reclaimed her hand and we walked out of the bedroom.

We walked through the entire house, which really was pretty outrageously appointed, even by our family's standards. The lower level had an indoor, heated, lap pool; and above that was an impressive entertainment room that Emmett would probably give his left arm for. We wound our way back to the main level.

"Damn," Ellie said as we passed through the enormous kitchen. "I actually kind of _want_ to cook here." She grinned at me and I stared at her, basking in her smile. "What?" she said.

I smiled back, holding my hands out to her. "Nothing. Come on. I thought you were going to play for me," I said with a wink.

"No fair!" she protested. "I asked first!"

I drew my fingers down her side to her hip. "I can be very persuasive, you know." I grabbed her hip and pulled her to me, kissing her deeply. She leaned toward me as I pulled away slowly, her eyes closed and her lips still parted. I was sure I had her. She reached up to put her hand on the back of my neck, pulling herself closer.

"You first," she whispered in my ear. When I pulled back to look at her face she was grinning again.

_Minx_.

She laughed at my thought, leading me by the hand to the sitting room, where the piano was positioned in front of a huge window overlooking the surrounding mountains.

I pulled up one of the big, comfy looking chairs so that it was right next to the piano bench and motioned for Ellie to sit down. She curled up in the chair with her knees against her chest, her chin resting on her knees. She watched me intently as I brushed my fingers over the keys, testing the pitch. It was perfectly in tune. As much as I wished it were she playing for me right now, there were few things in my life that made me as happy as the look on Ellie's face right now.

I transitioned into a piece I wrote for her while she was pregnant with Nathaniel. I remembered how it made her cry the first time I played the finished composition for her, after Edward had helped me smooth out a couple parts that weren't quite working the way I had wanted. I looked up and saw her smiling at me. When I finished the song, I turned toward her.

"Ellie?"

"Yes?"

"Would you like me to keep playing?"

Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Of course," she answered suspiciously. I chuckled at her expression.

"Will you join me here please?" I asked.

She slowly stood from the chair, standing beside the piano bench. I moved it back slightly and reached out for her. She stepped closer, watching me as I looked over her flawless figure before me. I placed my hands lightly on her hips, slipping my fingers just inside the waistband of her nearly non-existent shorts.

"At some point," I said quietly, "these will only be in the way." I slid them off of her and she stepped out of them. She saw in my mind what I wanted, and she sat facing me in my lap, her legs hanging off the piano bench behind me. I moved the bench closer to the piano again, and kissed her cheek before I reached for the keys. She folded her arms around me, her head leaning on my shoulder. I could feel her eyes looking up toward my face.

As I started to play again, she picked her up slightly; I could feel her hair brushing along my jaw. She smiled up at me when she recognized the song, Leonard Cohen's _Hallelujah_. I bent my head down slightly with my lips near her ear, singing to her softly. As I sang, I could feel her arousal against me; it took a significant amount of concentration not to move against her while I played. I didn't want to accidentally destroy the instrument.

As soon as I finished the song, Ellie's mouth was on mine and she crossed her legs behind me, holding herself tightly against me. I grabbed her head at the base of her neck with one hand and wound my other arm around her waist, my lips moving furiously against hers in response. I briefly moved my lips from hers to leave frantic kisses all over her face – her eyes, her cheeks, her jaw. As I did my eyes flashed to hers and I gasped, her irises were positively black with lust. I groaned and shoved us back from the piano, holding her against me as I stood.

In the space of a second I had retraced our steps back to the master bedroom, sitting on the huge bed with my wife grinding against me in my lap. I pulled off the silky robe and slid my fingers underneath the delicate lace of her top, willing myself _not_ to tear it as I pulled it off of her. I definitely wanted to see this piece again in the very near future. I threw the garment aside and she slid back off of my lap, lying on the bed with her arms over her head and one knee bent. Her hair fanned out behind her in a mess of wild curls. I quickly removed my boxers and laid down over her, my forearms resting on her shoulders and my hands carefully moving strands of hair away from her face. Ellie smiled up at me, running her hands up my back and pulling my face closer.

I watched her face as I teased her entrance. Her lips parted and she arched her head back slightly, her hands urging my body into hers. Far be it from me to deny my wife anything, I thought wryly as I pushed into her, our quiet moans filling the space around us. I struggled to control my movements as she begged me to take her faster. I was in no hurry; I wanted nothing more than to watch her thrash and writhe beneath me for hours, days even. Her pants and cries as she continuously succumbed to her orgasms were repeatedly my own undoing; I came with her more times than my befuddled mind could count. After hours of this exquisite torture, we lay together across the bed, tangled in rumpled sheets, holding each other quietly. I watched Ellie lie in my arms with her eyes closed and a smile on her lips; if I didn't know better I would have thought she was sleeping.

"I feel like I _should_ be tired after that," she said with a giggle, eyes still closed. "What time is it?"

I rolled slightly to look at the clock on the bedside table. "About 4:45," I answered.

"Think Nathaniel is still up?" she asked.

"Probably. Want to give them a call?" I asked, rubbing her cheek with my thumb.

She smiled and nodded. I rolled out of the bed and glanced around for my phone. When I found it on the dresser across the room I picked it up and called Edward's number.

"Hello, Christopher," he answered pleasantly.

"Hi Edward," I said.

"Are they bored already?" I heard Emmett call in the background.

"Hello to you too, Emmett," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Would you like to speak with Nathaniel?" Edward asked.

"If he's awake. How has he been?"

Edward chuckled and I immediately held my breath. "He's been fine for Bella and me. He almost gave Emmett a stroke earlier, though."

I looked at Ellie with my eyebrows raised and switched on the speakerphone. "What did he _do_?" she asked.

"Em took him hunting, just the two of them. The little trickster disappeared up a tree and hung out up there for an hour while Emmett looked for him. Finally he threatened to call Carlisle out there and Nathaniel jumped down onto Emmett's shoulders, scaring the hell out of him. Emmett ran straight back to the house and dropped him into my lap." We could hear Edward chuckling again and I pictured him shaking his head at the memories from Emmett. Ellie shook beside me with silent laughter.

"Hi Mommy! Hi Daddy!" Nathaniel took the phone from his uncle.

"Hey baby," Ellie said softly. "Are you having fun?"

"I am! I miss you guys!"

"We miss you too, little man," she said.

I cleared my throat, attempting to sound parental. "Nathaniel, I heard you gave your Uncle Emmett a scare earlier."

"You should have seen him Daddy! He was so funny," Nathaniel gushed.

I rolled my eyes. "Well it may have seemed funny but it's not nice to make people think you're missing. Your mom and I would be very upset if anything ever happened to you, so you mind your aunts and uncles and grandparents. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Daddy," he said, sounding properly admonished. I shook my head, knowing we were in for many more of these little gimmicks from our precocious child. Ellie smiled in agreement with my thought.

"Alright sweetie, you have a good night, okay? We will see you in a few days. We love you," Ellie said into the phone.

"Love you too. Good night." I could hear shuffling as the phone was passed back to Edward, and I heard Renesmee offer to take Nathaniel upstairs to get him ready for bed.

"That was impressive Christopher. Very authoritative," Edward said with a snicker. His tone was sarcastic. I was man enough to recognize that he did have more experience in this area than I. However, while Edward may be Ellie's older brother, he was younger than me in more ways than one.

"Watch it, youngster," I retorted. He laughed.

We ribbed each other good-naturedly for a moment or two more and then discussed the travel arrangements for later in the week. As we talked, Ellie nudged me, pushing a silent question into my mind.

_Did you mean it about them coming here first?_

I nodded, and her answering smile confirmed what she wanted.

"Hey, Edward. We were thinking it might be nice if you guys come here first. Ellie thinks you guys would like the house – she says it's a lot like Esme's cabin."

"You've talked her into buying it, haven't you?" Bella called from next to Edward.

"It's a strong possibility," I answered. They agreed that they would leave New Hampshire on Friday and join us in British Columbia sometime Sunday. The rest of the family still planned to head out to Denali the following week, but they were going to fly out. We said our goodbyes to Edward and Bella and turned our attention back to each other, spending the rest of the night entangled together in the sprawling master suite.

We spent the next few days blissfully unaware of the outside world. We spent our days lounging in front of the massive fireplaces (the fact that we were more than halfway through July did not limit our ability to enjoy this particular activity). Ellie favored the sitting room with the piano for this particular activity, knowing that she could easily convince me to play for her with it in such close proximity. I made sure she made good on her end of our earlier bargain however, and she played for hours for me to my great pleasure. We never made it to our nightly hot-tub ritual that evening. The longer she played the more I was wild with desire for her, eventually attacking her and dragging her to the floor beside the piano, where we remained for the rest of that night.

It was early Thursday morning now. A few hours ago Ellie had mused that the master bedroom hadn't seen any action in quite a while. She had barely let the thought escape her lips before I whisked her up the stairs and threw us both down on the bed. I felt her body vibrate against my chest as she giggled softly, seeing the memory in my thoughts.

"We remedied that, didn't we?" she asked, still laughing.

"Quite well," I answered, bringing her fingers to my lips. "Is there any where else of significance that we've missed? We probably only have until Saturday night address any oversights." Bella, Edward, Jake, and Renesmee would be leaving in less than twenty-four hours and I had every intention of making the most of every second that Ellie and I had left on our own.

"Actually," Ellie said quietly. "I was thinking about something you said the other day. About the hunting here?" She propped herself up on her elbows to face me and I nodded with a smile, encouraging her to go on. "I know I kind of overreacted to that suggestion before, but I was wondering if you would like to do that today?"

My smile grew; I was both happy and relieved that Ellie seemed more relaxed about the idea of hunting. I hadn't brought the subject up again since our first night here, knowing she was going to be anxious about another slip. But the odds of running into a human out here were so slight that I had hoped she would change her mind about going. She did need to keep up with hunting more frequently for a while, and I didn't want her anxiety to linger. She leaned down to kiss my lips.

"Thank you for being patient with me," she whispered. I reached up to touch her face, holding her jaw in my hand and dragging my thumb lightly across her cheek.

"I love you," I said simply, picking my head up to bring my lips back to hers. After several minutes of surprisingly chaste kisses, she sat up, grinning at me with her hands on my chest.

"So, when do you want to go? I have a feeling if we don't go soon we will lose our window."

I chuckled, sitting up beside her. "You're probably right." She climbed out of bed, grabbing my hands and pulling me up as well. I still found it a little funny that she could do that now, with or without my cooperation. She swatted my ass in response to my amusement.

We dressed in companionable silence, and I took her hand and led her to the deck off our third-story bedroom. Grinning, I hopped up onto the ledge of the balcony and held my hand out to her to assist her, though I knew it was entirely unnecessary. She looked down and then back at me with an eyebrow arched.

"You're not serious," she said.

"What? You're not scared are you?" I asked her incredulously. She could have cleared this distance as a hybrid, though I never would have taken the risk with her then. She shook her head and laughed dubiously. "I can carry you if you prefer." I knew that would rile her.

"No, I'm good," she said, smirking at me before yanking my arm, and me with it, over the ledge, hurtling us toward the ground. My feet hit the ground just a fraction of second before hers, leaving plenty of time for me to watch her graceful landing.

"You faker," I said, shoving her playfully with my shoulder.

"What?" she answered with a laugh.

"You know. Playing off like you were nervous. You would have made that leap before your change."

She grinned.

"And you would have given me a fucking heart attack in the process."

She grinned wider. "Probably."

I reclaimed her hand and we took off running toward the mountains. We ran for hours, I could feel the exhilaration rippling off of her like an electric current. We had hunted in this area before, when we lived in Seattle and Forks, and I had nearly forgotten how beautiful the region was. That observation, however, was barely a momentary distraction from the blinding beauty of the creature running beside me. Her laughter ran out beside me, bringing me back out of my own thoughts.

"Are we going to hunt? Or shall we just run to Tanya's?" She cocked her eyebrow at me.

We spent the rest of the day running and hunting. After we were sated, we sat on a ledge on the side of one of the mountains. I slung my arm over her shoulders, and she leaned her head against me. I watched her as she kicked her feet over the vast space beneath us.

"Now _that_ is a long way down," she said, leaning her head slightly to look below us. I laughed, but threw my arm out in front of her, instinctively. My reaction amused her. "I'm not going to fall, silly."

I rolled my eyes. "Knowing you, you might jump. Trouble maker."

"Hadn't occurred to me, but now that you mention it," she said with a smirk that would make Lucifer himself quiver.

"Oh fuck no, you don't," I growled, grabbing her shoulders. She laughed and climbed into my lap, kissing me roughly. I returned her kiss with my hands fisted in her hair.

"You are so funny," she whispered against my neck as she moved her mouth from mine, dragging her tongue along my jaw and neck. I groaned and scooted us back away from the ledge, lying back and letting her have her way for the rest of the night.

We would have been quite a spectacle to anyone who happened on our path as we ran back to the house before dawn the next morning. Ellie's clothes had almost entirely been ruined, leaving her nothing but my shirt. Luckily I, at least, still had my boxers, which sustained minimal damage. I assumed as we approached the house that we would head in to take a shower, but Ellie shook her head.

"I have a better idea," as she slowed to a walk by the steps that led up to the back deck. She headed toward the hot tub, dropping my shirt on the ground. "We will have company soon, might as well enjoy having it to ourselves while we can."

"Excellent idea, Mrs. Dawling," I said, stripping off my boxers and settling into the hot water with a groan. I leaned my head back and closed my eyes, stretching my arm out so Ellie could tuck herself against my side. I held her close to me, listening to her breathing and the gentle splashing of the bubbles rippling around us.

"Chris," Ellie said softly. I opened my eyes and looked down at her, unable to read the expression on her face.

"What's up?" I asked, sitting up a little straighter.

"I wanted to ask you something," she said slowly.

"Ask away." I rubbed her arm lightly, wanting to ease away whatever anxiety was troubling her.

"I want to talk to Eleazar about Nathaniel," she said. I nodded, not sure why this would worry her. Eleazar's ability, as I understood it, wasn't something he could really help anyway, so he was sure to assess our son for an unknown talent upon their first meeting anyway. As far as I knew, however, he hadn't demonstrated any out-of-the-ordinary behaviors.

"I'm not _sure_ that he has," she said, addressing the thought in my head.

"Can you tell me what you're worried about?" I asked.

"It's going to sound crazy, I know," she hedged. "But a while ago I started wondering if he has something to do with the gaps in my memory from his birth. I know he couldn't have done anything on _purpose_, but…" She trailed off. I looked down at her and watched her bite her lip. "I don't know. I don't think about it much and I hadn't mentioned it to anyone until now."

"Why didn't you tell me? I don't think it's that crazy actually," I said. Given her biological family's tendencies toward mental manipulations, on both sides, it was hardly a far-fetched idea.

She shrugged in answer to my question. "I didn't have any proof, it was just a thought really. But then when we talked to Edward the other day and he told us about Nathaniel's little disappearing act with Emmett, it made me wonder all the more. How could he just _disappear_? I mean, yeah Emmett's a goof but he would never be so careless as to leave Nathaniel in a situation where that could happen. He at least should have seen Nathaniel jump. And to not be able to find him for an _hour_?"

She had squeezed her eyes closed as she rushed through her explanation, and I watched her face, waiting for her to look up at me. "So," I said slowly, thinking through what she had just said. "You think he can make people, what, forget things?"

"I'm not sure exactly, but something like that, I guess. I've never heard anything in his thoughts that made me think that he could do _any_thing like this…" She took a deep breath, her muscles tensed with worry. I brought both of my hands to her shoulders and began gently trying to knead away the tension I felt there.

"It's okay, Ellie. We will talk to Eleazar. Maybe it's just a coincidence," I said hopefully. I was not going to lie; the idea of teaching Nathaniel to control such a gift, if he indeed had such an ability, was troubling. Ellie's recent tendency to accidentally push thoughts into my brain, now that her power was stronger as a full-vampire, was cute, but not without the potential to be problematic. A child that could accidentally or even _willfully_ create amnesia in unsuspecting minds was moderately terrifying. I wasn't even sure which was worse, whether he knew he could do it or if it happened unintentionally. As I considered the implications of such a gift, my thoughts flashed back to the memory of the line of encroaching black cloaks as the Volturi processed before us. Ellie shuddered beside me.

"Exactly," she breathed. I wound my arms around her and pulled her tightly against my chest.

"It will be fine," I whispered in her ear. Her hair brushed against my chin as she nodded, relaxing slightly against me. I hoped she felt my resolve; we would protect our son.

"I do, Chris. I know," she whispered.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you for reading! Review please!**


	7. Reunion

Chapter 6. Reunion.

Late Saturday night, Ellie and sat together on one of the huge couches in our favorite sitting room. She lay against my side, her arm around my waist. Her fingers were drumming impatiently against my abdomen, and I could feel her almost vibrating with excitement. We had gotten a call from Edward about an hour earlier that they were probably only about ninety minutes from the house. Ellie had laughed when she hung up the phone, joking that her brother probably wanted to give us plenty of time to make ourselves presentable and avoid any unpleasant mental images when we came into his hearing range.

In truth, after our conversation in the hot tub, we spent most of the day cuddled together quietly, each lost in our own thoughts, although unfortunately for Ellie that meant she was lost in mine as well. She surprised me as the sun was setting, hopping out of the tub without a word and grabbing towels for us. I followed her into the house and upstairs where we dressed, and we slowly descended the stairs holding hands. She led me to the piano, shoving me back into the chair I had pulled up for her the first time I played for her here. She sat at the bench and played for me for hours. I listened in awed silence, unable to tear my eyes off of her face as her fingers flew over the keys, intense concentration coloring her features.

When she finally stopped, she looked up at me, smiling brilliantly. I scooped her up and carried her to the couch, where we remained, waiting patiently (or not) for our son to arrive. She must have heard their thoughts because she flew off the couch and out the front door to the driveway. By the time I reached her, I could hear the car approaching. I chuckled at the sight Ellie bouncing up and down with excitement; reminded me of Alice. This was the longest we'd been away from Nathaniel since he was born, and while I wouldn't trade a second of the time we had alone together, I wasn't sure that either of us would be able to take so much time away again anytime soon.

"He's sleeping," she said to me as the car came into view.

"I'm not surprised," I commented. "I wonder if the time change will mess with him at all." She shrugged.

The car came to a stop in front of us, and I watched as Jacob pulled our sleeping son from the backseat. Ellie held out her arms and accepted the sleeping child from Jake, who turned to face the house, taking two bags from Renesmee as he stared.

"Jesus," he mumbled. Nessie giggled tugged on his hand, leading him toward the house behind Ellie. She looked back at me with a smile.

"Hi, Uncle Chris!"

"Hey Ness," I said, smiling back to her.

Edward grabbed his and Bella's bags and came over to shake my hand in greeting. "Christopher," he said.

"Hi Edward," I replied, turning to hug Bella quickly. "Bella. How was the drive? Thanks again for bringing Nathaniel out and keeping an eye on him this week. I hope he wasn't too much trouble," I continued as we walked toward the house.

Bella giggled. "Only for Emmett."

_About that,_ I thought to Edward. _Ellie has a theory that we want to discuss with you later._ His eyes widened slightly and he nodded. Ellie and I had decided that we needed more information about what Edward might have seen in Emmett's mind about the incident in the forest, on the off chance that there were clues that would indicate whether or not Nathaniel did have an ability like Ellie had suggested.

I caught Edward's gaze as I thought of this, and his mouth set in a line. I wasn't sure if Ellie had jumped into the mental conversation or not. Edward shook his head slightly.

"Enough already you two," Bella said, shoving Edward forward a little.

After we got inside, I took Nathaniel and tucked him in on one of the couches for now. If we went upstairs later we would take him up with us, but I was afraid he would wake up scared in a big, unfamiliar room.

"Good idea," Ellie whispered in my ear as I covered him over. She kissed my cheek and then his forehead, smoothing his hair back and looking at him for a long moment.

"Why don't you show everyone around," I suggested. "I can stay with him in case he wakes." She smiled and poked my ribs as she stood, making me jump a little.

A couple of hours later, Nessie and Jacob said goodnight and headed up toward their room. Edward and Bella sat on the couch on the other side of the huge fireplace from Ellie and me; Bella curled up to Edward's side in much the same was as Ellie was mine. Edward looked toward his sister.

"So, I understand you have a theory you want to discuss?"

She bit her lip, looking at me nervously. "Sort of. But first, can you show me whatever Emmett was thinking after he took Nathaniel hunting?"

I caught Bella's eye as she looked between Ellie and Edward speculatively. Edward's eyes lost focus slightly as he recalled the requested memories, and suddenly the images filled my head as Ellie used her gift to share what was in her mind.

"I was sitting at my piano when they returned," Edward spoke as he recalled the mental images. "They had only been gone a couple of hours. Emmett had said he wanted to spend some time with his nephew and Nathaniel asked that they go for a hunt. Emmett had already hunted earlier, so I didn't worry about the two of them going alone. When I heard them coming back, Nathaniel's thoughts were quiet, but amused. Nathaniel was remembering Emmett below him, frantically searching for him. Why it didn't occur to Emmett to look _up _I don't know. I guess since his scent was all over from where they'd been running he thought Nathaniel was just hiding in a shrub or something." Edward shrugged. "Anyway, Emmett came back, yelling at me in my head from the moment he was sure I could hear him."

I laughed quietly as I saw this through Ellie. _Edward! I'm giving him back to you. How come he never pulls this shit on you! I spent an hour trying to find him! Ellie would have eviscerated me if something happened to him and when he finally jumped down the little shit LAUGHED! _Edward remembered how Emmett blew into the house, Nathaniel in his arms, and quite literally dropped him into Edward's lap.

Ellie shook her head slightly and my mind was quiet once again. Edward looked at her for a long moment before speaking again. "So, what's your theory?"

She quickly rehashed the conversation that she and I had before in the hot tub. "I know it's probably just me being paranoid or something. And I know Carlisle thinks that _my_ memory lapse can be explained away as my mind protecting itself after the trauma but I just can't shake the feeling that there's something more."

Edward and Bella considered this quietly for several minutes. Every once and a while I saw Ellie nod or shake her head slightly, obviously in response to something Edward was thinking. Finally, Bella looked between the two of them and sighed in frustration, raising her eyebrow at her husband.

"Sorry," he said, smiling. "It's an interesting idea. I was just rehashing the Emmett incident again, based on what I know from Emmett along with the new information that you've just presented," he said. "It's plausible, I think." He paused, running a hand through his hair. "I can definitely see why you're concerned if it's true."

I squeezed Ellie's shoulder. I knew part of her would be relieved that her idea didn't seem _too_ crazy, but at the same time I think we both hoped that these conversations would be proven moot by Eleazar's assessment.

"Have you talked to Carlisle about this at all?" he asked.

Ellie shook her head. "I want to hear what Eleazar says before we bring it up with the rest of the family, honestly. This could still all be for nothing."

A few hours later, Ellie and I lay in the huge bed upstairs; Nathaniel snuggled between us. After we discussed Ellie's theory with Edward and Bella, we decided to bring him upstairs and let them enjoy some peace and quiet now that they were relieved of their babysitting duties. Bella had been eyeing the hot tub outside. As the sun started to rise, illuminating the mountains in the distance, Nathaniel started to squirm. He stretched his arms over his head and rubbed his eyes. He jumped half a foot when he realized it was us lying with him, sitting straight up before climbing into my lap, throwing his arms around my neck.

"Daddy! Mommy!" he cried, smiling.

"Hey baby," Ellie cooed, reaching over to kiss his cheek. "How was the drive yesterday?"

"It was so much fun," he gushed. "Uncle Edward drives _really_ fast. He drove faster than you, Dad."

I laughed and reached to mess up his already tousled hair. "So," I said. "What do you want to do today? We're planning to leave for Denali tomorrow night, so you have today and tomorrow to play around here."

"Jake said there was a big pool downstairs. I want to go swimming!" Nathaniel said excitedly.

"Okay," I said with a laugh. "That's what we'll do then." I grabbed him around the waist and lay him down with his head against Ellie's legs, tickling him just below his ribs. He laughed uncontrollably, thrashing between us.

"Stop! Mommy! Stop him!" he cried through his laughter, crawling up into Ellie's lap. She laughed as she wrapped her arms around him.

"Come on, let's get you ready for the pool," she said. We all dressed and headed downstairs, making a stop in the kitchen to get Nathaniel some breakfast. While he ate, Jake came down, also dressed for swimming.

"I heard Nathaniel and thought I'd come down too; hope that's okay," Jake said.

"Of course," Ellie replied.

"I'm done Mommy!" Nathaniel exclaimed. "Can we go down now please?"

"Yes, Mr. Impatient. Put your plate in the sink and let's go."

As the four of us walked down stairs, Ellie turned to Jake. "Ness still sleeping?"

"Yeah," he answered. "She didn't sleep much during the drive out apparently. I crashed for at least half of it. She was pretty beat when we got here."

When we got down to the lower level, Nathaniel took off running toward the pool, diving straight in the deep end. This probably would have terrified many parents, but Nathaniel was already an excellent swimmer. He resurfaced quickly and watched the rest of us file in as he swam back to the edge, causing hardly the slightest ripple in the water. Jake jumped in after him, and Nathaniel scrambled up onto his shoulders, jumping off in a 'cannonball' formation as Jake called it, creating a massive splash as he hit the water again.

I was vaguely aware of the sound of the back door opening and closing again upstairs, and I shot a look over at Ellie.

"Edward and Bella are going out to hunt," she said, grinning. "I expect we won't see them for a while." I chuckled, thinking back to our own recent expedition.

"I would guess not," I said. Suddenly, Ellie cocked her head to the side, her eyes looking toward the ceiling.

"I will be back in a few minutes, okay?" she said vaguely.

_Everything okay? _I asked. I assumed Nessie had said something to get her attention.

She nodded. _Girl stuff,_ she thought in response to me. She turned to see Nathaniel making another huge splash as Jacob threw him into the water and nodded in their direction. "You better go referee. Be back down soon."

I didn't know what Ellie and Renesmee discussed. As far as I could tell none of it was out loud, though I probably wouldn't have noticed much if it were with the amount of noise Nathaniel, Jake and I were making downstairs in the pool. When the girls joined us a little while later, they were all smiles and laughed hysterically at us as they slipped into the water.

That evening the four of us all sat around the kitchen. Ellie was apparently serious when she mentioned wanting to cook in the giant kitchen, and insisted on making dinner for Jake, Nathaniel and Nessie – who agreed to eat after some persuasion from Jake.

"Honestly, Nessie, you have no idea how good you have it," Ellie said with a laugh. "I never minded human food, but now it all just looks horrible." She shuddered. "It doesn't smell bad to me though, oddly enough. I'm not dumb enough to taste it though."

I was seated on a stool by the kitchen counter, and Nathaniel crawled up to sit in my lap as Ellie dished out the food. I tried to control my grimace. Regardless of what Ellie said, the stuff smelled terrible to me. I didn't want to discourage Nathaniel, though, as he had adopted Nessie's distaste for human food. I made a face over Nathaniel's head and Ellie bit her lip to keep from laughing.

"This is good, Ellie," Jacob mumbled, his mouth stuffed with food. I grimaced in his direction now and he chuckled at my disgusted expression, turning his attention back to his plate.

"Edward and Bella are almost back," Ellie said casually. I looked up just in time to see her flash a glance to Renesmee, and to see Renesmee's nearly indiscernible nod.

_What was that?_ I asked my wife silently.

_Not now please, _she answered simply. I raised my eyebrows but said nothing, turning my attention back to coaxing Nathaniel to eat the rather revolting looking green veggies on his plate.

The next evening found us all packing our belongings to head northwest toward Denali. I expected the drive to take less than another day if we could travel at a reasonable speed; reasonable for us anyway. Edward had moved Nathaniel's seat from his car to mine, and I started the engine while Ellie strapped him in. He had barely stirred when we picked up off the couch to bring him to the car, I expected that he would sleep for most of the journey.

After we had been driving for an hour or so, and when I was sure that Edward had sped off far enough ahead that he was out of earshot, my curiosity from the day before got the better of me.

"So, is everything okay with Ness?" I asked, glancing over at Ellie, who was looking out the window.

"Um, yeah," she answered absently. "Why?"

I shrugged. "I don't know, it seemed like something might be up yesterday."

Ellie sighed and pinched her nose.

"So something is up?" I guessed.

"I kind of hoped you wouldn't ask," she said with a short laugh. "Ness didnt explicitly tell me not to tell _you_ but I'm not really supposed to talk about it."

"Is she pregnant?" I guessed again. I couldn't imagine what else would require so much secrecy.

"I don't know. She doesn't know. She just had...questions," Ellie explained vaguely, fidgeting with her rings. "She asked that I keep it from Edward, specifically."

Great. Me and my big mouth, I thought. Now I had to keep it secret too.

"That's what happens when you're nosey," Ellie said with a giggle. Her expression darkened slightly. "She's late, apparently," she said with barely a whisper. "They were a little less than careful recently. She hasn't told Jake either, though I begged her too. I don't want to know any of this if he doesn't."

I nodded. "Will she?"

"She said she would tell him when we got to Denali."

"Never a dull moment, huh?" I said, dragging my hand through my hair. I stole a glance at her as she chewed her lip anxiously. "You okay?"

She nodded. "I'm just worried. I mean, between my fuck up, the terrifying prospect of our son possessing a gift he can't control, and now Nessie might be pregnant? I mean, I know she'll probably be fine but, fuck. There is some god awful family history at play here with pregnancies."

I reached over and squeezed her shoulder. "Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves, okay?" It's all going to be okay."

We continued on into the darkness, chatting quietly as Nathaniel slept. I noticed Ellie glancing periodically in the side mirror, her expression hardening. She looked like she was concentrating.

"Ellie?" I asked. She held up her hand. "What?" I said, ignoring her silent signal to be quiet. "What's going on?

She looked at me, her eyes wide. _Christopher,_ her voice rang out in my mind. _Don't say a word. Understand?_

I nodded.

_We're being followed._

* * *

**_Thank you for reading! Please review!_**


	8. Provoked

Chapter 7. Provoked.

_We're being followed. _

Her mental voice echoed in my mind as I tried to make sense of the words. Followed?

"What?" I asked incredulously, forgetting her instruction not to speak aloud. She glared at me. I glanced in the rear-view mirror and saw the vehicle behind us. I had noticed it a few miles back, it wasn't following closely enough for me to think anything of it. I knew something in the driver's thoughts must have registered with Ellie, giving himself away.

_Not out loud, Chris. _

_Shit, sorry. Who the fuck is following us? _

She didn't reply right away. She was texting Edward. I motioned impatiently for her to answer me. _I don't know. Edward thinks Volturi; I'm not sure. There's something...off. If it were the Volturi they wouldn't be so coy about it if they wanted something from us._

_You can hear him?_

_Yeah. Listen, I need you to get Nathaniel out of here. Get him to Tanya's. Let me out up ahead. _

"No!" I cried aloud. I was not going to leave her to challenge some unknown vampire on her own. Over my dead body. Literally.

She cracked a small smile but shook her head. _Chris. Listen to me. I'm stronger than you are right this moment, and I can get in his head. You need to protect Nathaniel. The guy is alone; I can handle this. Edward has already sent Jake back in case I need help, and he's getting close. Pull over. Now. _

_No,_ I answered again in my thoughts. I shook my head, squeezing the steering wheel in frustration.

_I will jump if I have to Chris. Please do not argue with me. I have a plan. _I glared at her as I jerked the steering wheel to the right, causing us to veer into the shoulder.

Ellie wouldn't tell me what her plan was, and she promised me she would meet me at Tanya's as quickly as she could. As I drove away from her, I felt physically ill. I could not believe I let her talk me into this. But she had one point that she knew I could not argue. We had to protect our son.

My phone rang as I gunned the accelerator. "Yeah," I answered gruffly, not looking to see who it was.

"Chris, it's Alice. What is going on?!" she asked frantically. "I saw started to see a vision with Ellie and another vampire and then it just totally disappeared!"

"Damn it," I growled and explained as quickly as I could. I heard her horrified gasp on the other end of the line. "Chris, hold on for one second," she said before calling out to Carlisle. I heard her explain to him what I had just told her. "Chris you still there?"

"I'm here. What's going on?"

"Carlisle and Jasper are leaving for Logan International in five minutes. They are getting on the next flight out."

"Can you see Ellie yet?" I asked her, panic starting to rise in my chest.

"No."

_Fuck_, I thought as I reached the Denali's drive. I wound up to the house, where Edward, Bella and Tanya stood waiting. Bella raced around and grabbed Nathaniel.

"Chris," Edward called to me as I got out of the car. "What is Ellie doing?"

"I don't know. She said she had a plan. Can't you hear Jake?"

He shook his head. "Too far."

I ran my hands through my hair and glanced from my sleeping son in Bella's arms back toward the woods, contemplating running back to her. Before I could decide to leave, I caught an unexpected scent. It was simultaneously familiar but also not, I knew I had never met the newcomer. The scent pulled at my memory.

I looked at Edward questioningly and he held out his hands. "Chris," he said. "Wait, please."

As the memory dawned on me, I raced into the house, my mouth curled in a furious snarl.

"What the fuck are _you_ doing here?!" I shouted, leaning into the visitor's face. It was Nahuel, I had realized as I ran into house. I knew his scent from when I returned with Ellie to Forks after Edward's disappearance. I couldn't understand how he could be here now, but I didn't believe that his reappearance and the vampire following us could be a coincidence. "Did you do this?!"

"No. I am not responsible for whoever was following you today," Nahuel snarled in response. He pushed back against me attempting to get me out of his face. I growled and moved to pin him against the wall, but before I could complete the action my arms were behind my back.

"Enough Christopher. I don't believe Nahuel is involved," Edward said firmly as Garrett and Eleazar restrained me, each holding one of my arms behind my back.

"Then what the hell is he _doing_ here? Are you telling me this was a coincidence?" I growled.

"We don't know what is going on yet Chris," Edward said calmly.

"Christopher," Tanya spoke. "Nahuel arrived only a few moments before Edward and Bella. He was genuinely surprised when he learned that your family was on their way here - I think he might have left it they hadn't arrived so quickly behind him."

I shook my head. "How is it possible that this is all just a coincidence?"

Edward shrugged. "We will know more when Ellie gets back. Listen, there's something else you should know," he continued cautiously. He studied my expression and I knew he was monitoring my thoughts carefully; Garrett and Eleazar still hadn't released my arms. "Nahuel didn't lead the tracker to you, however he didn't come here alone."

As the words left Edward's mouth, my head snapped up toward the doorway, where another figured stepped from the shadows. "What the fuck?" I gasped as his face came into view. "Didn't we kill you?"

The stranger laughed. "I am not Sebastian. I am Frederick, his brother."

I stared in shock at the man. His hands were raised slightly, palms facing out, his posture straight; he appeared as if he were trying to signal that he was not a threat. "His _brother_?" I spat, looking toward Edward now. He nodded, confirming that the man's thoughts seemed to support this. The resemblance to both Sebastian and Ellie was with out question and I growled with frustration. Ellie would be furious that her desire to distance herself from her biological father was once again being thwarted. Edward smiled slightly, nodding again in apparent agreement with my assessment.

"Chris if we let you go will you keep it together?" Edward asked as I stared at the newcomer. "Remember Nathaniel is still outside. You don't want to frighten him."

At the mention of my son I hung my head, nodding silently that I would behave. "Why hasn't she called yet," I asked no one in particular. "I need to go back."

Before they could argue, my phone rang in my pocket. "ELLIE?!" I answered.

"I'm on my way Chris. Jake is with me. We're fine. It's over, for now anyway."

"Thank god," I moaned, dropping to my knees. "Don't ever do that again. What happened?"

"I will explain when I get back to the house. It's complicated." I could hear the wind flying past her as she ran. "I love you Chris," she added before the line went dead.

"I'm going to meet her. She needs to know about this," I waved toward Nahuel and Frederick, "before she gets here."

No one argued with me as I walked out the door. I stopped in front of Bella, who was still standing holding my sleeping son. "Thank you," I murmured to her before kissing Nathaniel's forehead. "I will be right back," I whispered into his hair.

I ran for several minutes before picking up Ellie's and Jake's scents; they were approaching quickly. I knew she would hear me coming. As she ran straight for me I grabbed her roughly into my arms. "Oh god Ellie," I gasped into her hair. "I was so worried."

"Shh," she whispered, her arms tight around my neck. "It's fine, but we need to get back okay?"

I took her hand and we started back toward Tanya's. "Ellie there's something you should know before we get there," I said. "We aren't the only visitors here right now."

I heard her gasp as I recalled the scene earlier with Nahuel. "Christopher!" She yelled. "You _attacked _him?!"

Jacob whined behind us, not understanding what was going on. "It's fine Jake," Ellie said. "Everyone's fine. Chris just went a little vigilante on my, um, ex." She made a face.

Jake barked what sounded like a laugh. "I did _not _go _vigilante_," I huffed. "Don't you think it's strange how he's just turned up? He could have led whoever it was that followed us - and by the way who the fuck was that anyway?"

She shook her head. "I will explain when we get there. Who was the other guy that I saw in your thoughts? The one that came with Nahuel?"

I growled, irritated that my questions weren't getting answered. "Called himself Frederick. Says he's Sebastian's brother."

Ellie stopped running. "No!" Her chest rumbled with a furious growl.

I circled back to her, putting my hands on her shoulders. "I know, sweetheart."

She gripped my arms as if she needed the support to stand, her eyes flashed with anger and worry. "What does he want?"

I shrugged. "There wasn't really time to get information before you called. Clearly his thoughts were not troubling to Edward though, as he still had all of his limbs."

She grinned slightly at this. "Good point." She shook her head at me again, no doubt thinking of my reaction to Nahuel. She took a deep breath and started moving again. "Come on. Lets go straighten this mess out. Is Nathaniel okay?" We were nearing the house now and she slowed her pace to a walk.

"He was sleeping, Bella had him outside so he didn't see me freak out." She squeezed my hand and I looked over at her as we walked up the front steps of the house. _Sorry_, I thought.

She grinned and kissed my cheek, pulling me through the door and into the sitting room where everyone, except for our visitors, had gathered. Renesmee ran out to take a pair of pants to Jake and the two of them joined the rest of us a few seconds later.

"I took Nathaniel upstairs," Bella told Ellie. "He stayed asleep the whole time."

"Thanks," Ellie replied, smiling gratefully. "I'm going to go peek in on him and then we can talk." I followed her up the stairs, and heard footsteps coming into the house from the back. Nahuel and Frederick must have heard us return, I realized. We checked on our sleeping son, each of us placing a kiss on his head. Ellie straightened the covers over him before turning to face me. She wrapped her arms around my waist and reached up to kiss me quickly.

"I'm sorry about all this," she whispered. "I promise I will tell you everything, I just wanted to explain all at once."

"This isn't your fault. Don't apologize. Your dad and Jasper are on a flight out here. They will be here tonight."

She nodded solemnly. "Um, has anyone mentioned anything to Nahuel about me being...different?" She asked nervously.

I shrugged. "I don't know."

She sighed and shook her head. "This is going to be about eighteen different kinds of awkward."

I chuckled. "Yup. Ready to go meet your uncle?"

She grimaced and smacked my chest. "Not really."

We descended the stairs slowly, holding hands, and walked back into the sitting room. Most of the family was sitting together; Eleazar stood near Nahuel and Frederick, who were against the far wall. I squeezed her hand as Nahuel gasped, seeing her for the first time and obviously noticing the changes.

"Ellie," Tanya said, breaking the silence in the room. "Thank goodness you're all right." She came over to hug her quickly.

"Thanks Tanya," she said, glancing around the room with a shy smile.

"Ellie?" Nahuel spoke her name quietly.

"Hi," she answered, her eyes flashing to his face and then away again quickly. "So what _are _you doing here?"

He stared at her, not answering for a long moment. When he finally spoke, his eyes continued to look over her figure, taking in all of the subtle changes that resulted from her transformation. I swallowed a snarl, fighting against the instinctive, unbidden jealousy that flared within me. "I had been traveling on my own for a few months. Huilen has recently taken a mate and I wanted to give them...space." He paused and glanced at me. "Incidentally, if I am interpreting _his _earlier display correctly, I take it you have as well?" He looked back to Ellie.

"Yes," she answered clearly, tightening her grip on my hand and signaled for him to go on.

Nahuel didn't go on right away. His gaze lingered on Ellie's face. "What happened to you?" he asked sharply, his eyes narrowing and darting back toward me.

"It's complicated," she answered in a clipped tone. "How did you end up here, with _him_?" Her eyes shifted to her alleged uncle. Nahuel crossed his arms in front of him, looking back and forth between Ellie and me for a moment longer before continuing with his explanation.

"As I said, I had been traveling for a while; I had decided to use this opportunity to try to find out Joham's fate. Last I heard the Volturi had apprehended him, but I didn't know what became of him, though I assumed he had been destroyed. It'd been several years since I'd heard from my sisters, and I had begun to worry for them as well.

"Frederick sought me out, while I traveled through the southern states, after word somehow reached him that I had been asking after Joham. He told me about Sebastian, and the connection to you. When he found out that I knew you, he asked me to help him find you. I will let him explain the rest of his story, but we ended up here, I didn't know how else to locate you. It was entirely coincidental that we arrived today."

"Eleanor," Frederick spoke to her for the first time. "I mean you no harm. Truly. I know what you've dealt with from Sebastian and Jonathan."

She looked at him skeptically. "Well it's funny you should mention Jonathan. Our other little visitor was his errand boy apparently."

Frederick sighed. "I was afraid of that."

"What do you know about him exactly? Can he manipulate minds like Sebastian?" she asked.

"Yes, but his abilities are a bit different from your father's," he said. His voice thick with loathing at the use of the word 'father.' "He can...enchant his chosen subjects, for lack of a better word. His conquests are sexual, typically, and he uses that connection to get them to do what he wants."

I glanced at Eleazar, who listened to Frederick's description of Jonathan's abilities with rapt attention.

"Well that explains a lot," Ellie said. "This guy today, he was clearly such a conquest. He had some _very_ specific memories," she added in answer to the questioning stares.

"Will you _please_ tell us what happened now?" I pleaded, my patience wearing thin.

"Yes. Sorry," she said, smiling at me. "So while Chris and I were driving here, I noticed a car following somewhat closely. I started listening more carefully and could hear the driver's thoughts. They were kind of scattered, but focused at the same time? It's hard to explain." She glanced at Edward. "He was definitely in pursuit though. He wasn't very slick about it. I wondered if he even knew that I would be able to hear him.

"I convinced Chris to bring Nathaniel here and I ran into the woods a little ways. I knew he wanted to get to me specifically so I called to him as I ran. Jake was hanging back just in case." She looked over to Jacob. "Thanks for that, by the way. Anyway, he was behind me in an instant. I slowed enough so he thought he could get a hold on me-"

My growl interrupted her story. She shushed me and continued on.

"But before he could I restrained him." She paused again, looking hesitantly at Nahuel and Frederick. "Bella, can you shield everyone but those two for a moment?"

Bella nodded.

_Bella can you hear me? _

When Bella nodded, Ellie continued.

_Thank you. I don't really want to go into detail out loud. I don't trust Frederick yet. Either of them actually, Chris has a valid point that their arrival is an unlikely coincidence. Anyway, I was able to get him to tell me that Jonathan sent him. He didn't have a clear goal though. Just me. Like it was a test to see if he could even get to me. _

I snarled again, earning a quiet, "hush," from my wife.

_Anyway, like I said before, this vampire was clearly one of Jonathan's conquests. This is where it gets crazy though. You know what I was able to do with Valerie? _Heads nodded around the room.

_Apparently that has changed a bit. It was easier; I didn't need to pick through his brain for specific memories. It was more like the crazy shit you see on TV or in the movies – the compulsion or whatever. Once I was able to make eye contact with him, I could force him to answer my questions - I knew he was telling the truth because there was no hesitation - his words matched his thoughts completely. I could_ feel see_ the influence I was having on his mind.__ I told him to tell Jonathan that he didn't find us, that we weren't here, and that by the time he got back to his car and pulled away, that was all he would remember. _

"And was it?" Eleazar asked.

Ellie nodded and then turned to Bella and nodded again, indicating that she could release the shield. All eyes were staring at Ellie.

"Eleazar, can we talk at some point?" Ellie asked shyly, looking around the room at the shocked faces of her family members, and the confused expressions of Nahuel and Frederick. Eleazar nodded.

"Absolutely," he replied, sounding slightly stunned.

"If I could make a suggestion," I spoke up. "Why don't the three of us discuss this later, perhaps we can all go to pick up Jasper and Carlisle. They will probably be interested as well."

Eleazar looked to Ellie to answer. "That's fine with me," she said.

The tense group adjourned a few minutes later to various locations in the house. You didn't have to be a mind reader to pick up the worried vibrations coming from nearly every person here. I took Ellie's hand and led her back to the room where Nathaniel slept and sat down in a big chair in the far corner of the room, positioned beside a huge window overlooking the expanse of Alaskan wilderness surrounding the property. Ellie curled up in my lap, tucking her head under my chin and pulling my arms around her.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked quietly.

I felt her shrug. "Nothing really. I don't even how to start processing today."

I chuckled darkly.

"I mean it. I'm tired of these people coming out of the woodwork." She sighed. "I just wish we could be left alone."

"And Nahuel?" I asked quietly.

"What about him?"

It was my turn to shrug. I didn't really know what I was asking. "That must have been...I don't know. Strange." I cursed the ridiculous insecurity bubbling in my gut.

She looked up at me. "Christopher. I don't really have to tell you that you have nothing to worry about right?" Her eyes widened when I didn't answer fast enough, and she grabbed my face in her hands. "That was over before we even met," she said. "There's nothing there. Period."

"I'm sorry. I know that," I said quietly. "I do, honestly," I added when she continued to look unconvinced. "And I'm sorry I was an ass to him earlier. I don't want to make this _more_ awkward for you."

She laughed at this. "More awkward? I hardly think that's possible." She stretched to kiss my neck just below my ear. "You're cute when you're jealous."

I ran my hand through her hair, messing it up playfully, ignoring her crack about jealousy; I couldn't honestly deny it even if I wanted to.

"What do you make of this Frederick?" I asked as she settled back against me.

"Oh god, I don't know. He seems genuine enough. I guess. Or at least, he doesn't seem overtly threatening. Though he didn't really say why he wanted to track me down. There's something familiar about him though. I mean, other than he looks like _him_," she said with a shudder. "Something in his mind. I can't place it though. It's bugging me."

"Well maybe you should talk with him," I suggested. "He is sort of-"

"Don't you dare call him family, Christopher Dawling," she snapped, cutting me off. "Just because I don't want him dismembered doesn't mean I'm ready to invite him home for Christmas."

"Noted," I said with a laugh. "I only meant to suggest that the only way you will find out for yourself about this guy is to speak with him directly. It doesn't seem like there was any love lost there between he and Sebastian."

She was quiet for a moment, tracing patterns along the palm of my hand as she thought. "Maybe," she said. "Not right this minute though."

I pressed my lips to the back of her head. "Whatever you want," I said. "I think I am going to go downstairs for a bit though, if that's okay."

She turned and pressed her hand to my cheek. "Sure, Chris." I knew from her gentle smile that she saw the reason in my mind – I wanted to apologize to the Denali's, and Nahuel, I thought reluctantly, for my earlier behavior. Suddenly her smile turned into a mischievous smirk. "Go make nice," she said, climbing out of my lap and pulling me up.

I watched as she curled up beside Nathaniel and turned to head down the stairs. Everyone had dispersed for the evening, but I found Nahuel standing by the window, facing away from me. I walked up and stood beside him, holding my hand out cautiously.

"Nahuel," I said as he turned to look at me skeptically. "I'm sorry for being an ass earlier. I wasn't really thinking straight at that moment. I'm Christopher."

He nodded and shook my hand quickly. "I figured that out," he said. "So, you and Ellie? You're married?"

"Yes," I answered with an automatic smile. "Just over nine years."

He raised his eyebrows slightly. "You met in Ithaca," he said.

"Yes," I said again. He nodded and looked back toward the window.

"She's happy?" he asked.

"I'd like to think so," I answered, more abruptly than I intended. "Things have been a little crazy lately, what with Nathaniel and her…change."

"What happened there?" he pressed.

I sighed. "She got pregnant. Alice thought it would all be fine but she ended up having a complication after the birth," I explained. "It was the only option. She wasn't going to survive otherwise."

"She's fed on a human. Recently, I mean," he observed. "She didn't do that before."

"It was an accident. She's…handling it as best she can right now. I'm sure all of the added drama from today is not really helpful for her right now."

"I am sorry to be a part of that added drama," he said. "I truly did not expect there to be any Cullens here when we arrived. We scared the hell out of Tanya. I hadn't seen any of them since Ellie's seventh birthday, so she assumed something must be wrong."

"Indeed," Tanya added as she walked into the room, coming to stand beside Nahuel. "Sorry to interrupt," she added, flashing a smile. "I'm about to head out for a hunt. Would either of you care to join me?"

Nahuel accepted the invitation just as I declined it. I heard Ellie coming down the stairs and I turned to meet her. She glanced up as Tanya and Nahuel walked out. I could see her lips twitch like she was fighting a smile.

"What?" I asked, slipping my arms around her waist.

"Nothing," she said, looking up at me. "Tanya is, um, taking advantage of the opportunities provided by the sudden arrival of unattached males."

I chuckled. "That doesn't surprise me."

"You two seemed to have a relatively civil chat there," she said, nodding back to where I had been standing with Nahuel.

I shrugged. "I suppose. I don't get the impression he likes me too much," I said with a grin.

Ellie shook her head and laughed, leading me upstairs.


	9. Gifted

Chapter 8. Gifted.

Several hours later, Ellie, Eleazar and I were piled into Eleazar's Land Rover, speeding toward Anchorage to pick up Carlisle and Jasper.

"So," said Eleazar, glancing over to Ellie who sat beside him in the passenger seat. "Would you like to talk now or after we've retrieved your father and brother?"

"Now, actually. There's a couple things I want to talk about, and I would rather talk to them once we've had a chance to hash it out," she said.

Eleazar nodded, and waited for Ellie to lead the conversation. I squeezed her shoulders as she collected her thoughts.

"I'd like to ask you about me, first, if that is okay. I know you heard me describe what happened yesterday. Before I, um…changed…well…" she paused, glancing back at me nervously. "You heard about the thing with the human, right? At Dartmouth I mean," she clarified, scrunching up her nose at the possible double meaning in her words.

Eleazar smiled. "Yes. I'm sorry we didn't have more of a chance to speak at Nessie and Jacob's wedding; I was fascinated to learn of the increase in your abilities. Your father described what had happened, and it seemed consistent with what I was picking up from you while we were visiting."

Ellie nodded slowly. "And now? What are you picking up now? It was different this time. I don't know if it's because my…subject…was a vampire, or because _I_ am. But it was exactly as I described yesterday. And you know I can project thoughts, kind of like Renesmee?"

"Yes, that was also a fascinating change," Eleazar mused.

"Indeed," I murmured, grinning at the thought of some of the more vibrant things she'd shown me. Ellie glared back at me. "Sorry," I said, still smiling. Eleazar studiously ignored this.

"That had become easier," Ellie said. "Before my change I mean. It's, um, particularly easy with Chris."

"That makes sense," Eleazar said. "I'm curious. Does it ever happen unintentionally?"

Ellie and I both stared at Eleazar. "Um. Yeah, it does. Only with Chris as far as I know," she answered with a quiet laugh.

He nodded. "Like I said before, that makes sense. You can feel free not to answer this, but I would guess that the times that you have shared your thoughts with Christopher, have been moments of…intimacy?"

Ellie nodded, staring straight ahead of her. Eleazar smiled and continued with his theory. "I would guess then that his is the only mind that is so open to yours that your thoughts would penetrate unintentionally."

"What about the…I don't even know what to call it," Ellie said. "Compulsion? Mind control?"

"Either works, I think," Eleazar replied. "I can definitively sense that you have the ability to manipulate another's thoughts. It feels very broad - and I don't believe that it has changed as much as you may think from what you were able to do with the human at Dartmouth. I think that your change simply strengthened your ability, but the general scope of your gift seems to be more or less the same."

She exhaled in a huge sigh. "I am worried that I might I lose control over it and accidentally control someone's mind."

Eleazar shook his head, and reached over to gently squeeze Ellie's shoulder. "Eleanor. I don't _think_ it works that way. I think the eye contact that you had with your subject yesterday is necessary for that type of manipulation. I can understand your worry though. And why you don't want to advertise this ability. There are certainly those in our world that would be very interested to know of this gift."

"Aro," I spat.

"Indeed," Eleazar confirmed, glancing back at me. "Ellie, I know you two suggested we pick up your father and brother under the guise of discussing this in detail with them as well, but I will not mention any of this conversation to even your family unless that is what you want."

"Thanks," she said. "Let's move on to our other question and then I will let you know." She laughed a little.

"Fair enough. You want to know about Nathaniel?"

"Yes," she whispered. My eyes were locked in Eleazar's face as he considered his next words. Ellie's gasp told me what we'd feared.

"He's gifted. His gift will be similar yours, Eleanor, though at this point I think it will remain far more limited." Neither Ellie nor I spoke at first as we absorbed this information.

"How so?" I asked quietly, breaking through the heavy silence that now hung over us. "We wondered specifically if he is able create memory lapses."

"Very astute observation," Eleazar said. "Ellie, you're missing parts of your memory from Nathaniel's birth, correct?" He continued when she looked at him questioningly, saying, "Carlisle mentioned that the last time he and I spoke. He didn't say as much, but I'm guessing he has some questions about his newest grandchild as well."

"Huh," Ellie said. "He never mentioned that to me. He said the lapse was a reaction to the trauma most likely."

"So is that what he can do, Eleazar?" I pressed.

He nodded, glancing at me again. "More or less. There is always the possibility that as with Eleanor, his abilities may strengthen or become more nuanced over time. The key now, of course, is to teach him to manage it."

"Can that be done?" I asked.

"I believe it can. You will have to be very firm with him, and very direct about his abilities. His contact with humans should be very limited, at least until he has mastered significant control."

I sat back in my seat, processing this. Nathaniel's exposure to humans was already limited; we couldn't risk familiarity given his advanced rate of growth.

"That shouldn't be a problem," Ellie said, echoing my internal sentiment.

"Christopher," Eleazar called my attention after several minutes of silence, as he deftly maneuvered the SUV into a parking space in the terminal garage. "With your permission of course, I would be interested to see if either Ellie's or Nathaniel's suggestive powers work on you."

I chuckled at the thought of the effectiveness of Ellie's _suggestive _powers, knowing full well the effect she could have. "I don't think that's what he meant, Christopher," Ellie admonished.

"I know," I replied with a chuckle. "That's fine Eleazar." He laughed and shook his head, realizing where my mind had gone.

"Wait a second," Ellie said, looking curiously at Eleazar. "You think it won't work on him?"

"I don't know for sure. That's why I want to test it," he said vaguely.

"I don't understand," I said, confused. "We already know that Ellie can get into my head. She can share her thoughts, and when we tested the manipulations she used at Dartmouth, that worked on me too. Why wouldn't it work now?"

"I really am not sure. I'm getting something very slightly different from you, Christopher. Not a gift, per se, but there's a flicker of a defensive ability of some kind. I'm wondering if there is some latent protection kicking in now that you have a blood connection to a manipulative mind, and then of course the sire connection that now exists between you and your wife."

"Interesting," I said, meeting Ellie's baffled gaze. "Can the sire connection, as you call it, really trigger something like that?"

Eleazar shrugged. "I guess we will find out. Are you two ready to go in? Their flight should be landing soon," he said, redirecting our focus.

Ellie and I nodded quietly, still bewildered by the theory he presented.

"Okay then," he said. "Shall we?"

* * *

Carlisle and Jasper said scarcely a word on the drive back as Ellie replayed for them the events of the previous day, as well as the conversation on the way to the airport. About halfway into our journey back to the Denali's home, Ellie blinked her eyes clear and looked between their dazed expressions a few times before Carlisle spoke.

"You've had quite a busy 24 hours," he said with a chuckle, his expression slowly turning more serious. "Eleanor, I wish you hadn't taken on your follower alone."

I couldn't help but nod my agreement, earning a painful jab to my ribs from her elbow. "Daddy," she protested. "Jacob was there. I wasn't alone. And I told you. He wasn't supposed to hurt me."

"So there was no indication of Jonathan's next move in this guy's thoughts?" Jasper asked.

Ellie shook her head. "No. Jonathan surely knows better than that."

"Too bad," he said wistfully. "What about Frederick? I agree with Christopher's suspicion about the timing of his arrival with Nahuel. It's all a little too perfect."

Ellie shrugged. "I haven't really talked to him yet. I was planning to after we get back. All I know is he wanted to find me and that apparently we are related."

"Do you think he has manipulative abilities as well?" Carlisle asked.

"He does not," Eleazar spoke up from the driver's seat. "He is not gifted as far as I can tell."

"Interesting," Carlisle mused. "He drew the short straw, genetically I guess. I still wonder if you have other half-siblings Ellie. It's fascinating how closely related your abilities are."

Ellie looked at her father with a bemused expression. "Whatever you say, Dad."

Shortly after we arrived at the house, and after rounds of greetings and introductions, everyone broke up into groups. Carlisle and Jasper went to speak with Edward and Bella about the previous day's events, Carmen and Eleazar and Kate and Garrett slipped upstairs, and Tanya and Nahuel disappeared together as well. I hadn't seen Jake and Nessie since before we left for the airport.

Ellie asked Frederick if the two of them could speak for a few minutes. She gave me a quick kiss and then led him outside. I went upstairs to check on Nathaniel, and decided to use my time alone to take a shower. I was somewhat anxious to leave Ellie alone with her newest _family _member, but I knew I had to trust that she would be okay. I hoped that whatever he told her wouldn't cause her any pain; she had certainly been through enough.

As I stepped into the shower, I relaxed under the stream of hot water, thinking back through the revelations regarding my talented wife and child. The idea that our connections as a family might protect my mind from their manipulations was fascinating. I could tell that Ellie hoped that this theory proved true. I worried, though, about how Nathaniel would react when we broached the subject. It was easy to look upon him as a child, and not an infant, given his appearance, and to speak with him almost as with an adult, given his intellect. But emotionally he was so young; it seemed unfair that he was burdened with such a potentially treacherous gift.

I shut the water off and climbed out of the shower, grabbing a towel to dry myself with, wrapping it around my waist. Before I slipped back into our guest room, I peaked in again on Nathaniel. His hair was sticking out in a thousand directions on his pillow, a peaceful smile on his face. If Ellie had been up here I would have asked what he was dreaming about. I bent to kiss his head and slipped out quietly.

I closed the door and reached for my phone, plugging it into a small speaker and turning on some music. I started to pull out clothes but changed my mind, crossing the room from the dresser to the nightstand and grabbing a dense philosophy text that I had recently borrowed from Jasper. I stretched out on the bed and opened the book to where I had previously left off. I remembered the first time Jasper and I sparred over philosophical theories, Ellie watched our dispute in open-mouthed shock. At that point, we had barely been together a week, and she gaped at me when I revealed that one of my three doctorates was actually _in_ philosophy. She shook her head and left me to my debate with Jasper, which lasted well into the night.

A quiet laugh drew me out of my recollection, and I looked up to see Ellie closing the door behind her. "Please, don't let me interrupt," she said with a grin. "I'm quiet enjoying the view." I watched as her eyes traveled down my body and back again. Her grin widened at the low rumble in my chest.

"Are you going to stand there all night? Or are you going to get your little ass over here?"

"Hm," she said, tapping her chin in mock contemplation. She looked me over again and licked her lips. My eyes traveled from her lips to her bare shoulders and the sloping neckline of her simple cotton dress. I watched as she reached behind her to unzip the dress and slipped her finger under one of the straps, slowing sliding her arm out. She slipped the other strap over her opposite shoulder and let the material fall to the floor in a soft pile at her feet.

My mouth opened slightly as I took in the dark blue lace bra and panties that remained. I tore my eyes away to look at her face, and saw the path of her gaze, which was trained on my groin. The mere sight of her standing before me was enough to leave me straining, aching to be buried inside her.

"Would you like me to keep going, or would you like to help," she asked. The sound of her voice alone almost made me come. "Oh my," she said playfully. "We are excited aren't we?" I could smell her arousal and groaned loudly. She walked over to stand closer to where I was lying on the bed, climbing over me.

She leaned down to kiss me, holding my arms down at me side. Her kiss lingered softly, slowly pulling away. She drew her tongue down my neck, and to my chest. Her breasts ghosted across my skin, and she pushed her ass ever so slightly against the head of my cock. She groaned, feeling the wetness that had already formed there. She sat up, and I could feel her own wetness through the thin fabric separating her skin and my stomach. Reaching behind her, she unfastened her bra and let it fall away, playing with her own nipples as she moved against my abdomen.

"I'd be happy to assist you with that, love," I whispered. Though she had released my arms, I kept them beside me, letting her call the shots.

"I know you would," she answered with an evil grin. She stopped moving suddenly, her body no longer positioned over mine.

"Hey!" I cried, my eyes finding her standing again beside the bed. I was beside her in a fraction of a second, pulling her ass against my cock. "That was mean." I bit her shoulder and she moaned, her ass pressing into me.

"I'm sorry Professor," she whispered. She bent over slightly, her hands against the bedpost. "Maybe you should teach me not to do it again."

_Oh fuck. _I yanked her underwear down unceremoniously, my cock throbbing. I wrapped her hair around my wrist and drew my hand back, bringing it down against her supple skin with a satisfying _smack. _

"Oh god Chris," she moaned. I let go of her hair and reached around to her clit, rubbing her slowly as I smacked her ass again. She frantically writhed against my hand as she came. I grabbed both of her hips and plunged into her, unable to wait any longer to be inside of her. I took her roughly over the bed, sucking the skin of her neck as I tried not to cry out from my own release.

Once I was able to move again, I slowly withdrew from her and picked her up, reverently lying her down on the bed before crawling in beside her. She positioned herself against my chest, one of her hands working my scalp and twisting my hair around her fingers.

"I _really _hope you haven't learned your lesson," I whispered, kissing the top of her head.

"Mm," she murmured. "If that's what I get, I will happily misbehave more often."

I chuckled, holding her quietly for several minutes.

"I realize this is an awkward transition, but how was your chat?" I asked her, breaking our silence.

"Ha!" She laughed. "From spanking to 'How was your chat with the uncle you just met?!' This family is so weird." She shook her head. "Anyway, it was rather enlightening."

"Oh?"

She nodded, propping herself up to face me as she talked. "Yeah. Do you remember when we went to Chicago, and I thought I heard someone in the distance, watching?"

"Yes," I said.

"It was him. He didn't mean for me to see that in his mind, but when I called him on it he told me everything. He and Rebecca were _together_."

"What?" I gasped. "Does that mean that _he's _your-"

"No," she cut me off. "I asked that too. He had promised Rebecca that he would make her immortal. Only, he had never done it before and was terrified of killing her. He asked Sebastian to do it for him."

"What?!" I said again, louder.

"I know. It gets worse," she said, pausing and making a face. "Oh my," she gasped, squeezing her eyes shut. "I did _not_ need to see that."

"Please don't make me say 'what,' again Ellie."

She giggled. "Um. Nahuel and Tanya are back. They're getting along very well it seems."

My eyebrows shot up. "Anyway," I urged, wanting to hear more of her story. I didn't want to think of the activities occurring in Tanya's room.

"Me either," she said, laughing at my thought. "Anyway, Sebastian, being the sadistic dick that he was..." She swallowed, all the humor from a moment ago gone from her face. I touched her cheek and she placed her hand against mine, looking at me. "He raped her," she whispered.

I snarled, wishing to god I had been the one to kill that loathsome bastard.

"I mean, I knew that for all intents and purposes," she went on. "But hearing it from him just made it more real. I think they were mates, Chris. He said it was only about three years ago that he could stand to leave the cemetery for more than a quick feed. It was nearly a year before he fed at all, after she died. He knew she was a Masen, and before I was born he somehow made the connection to Edward, and then found Carlisle. He was the one who brought her to Carlisle; he left her, hoping Carlisle would find a way. He found her tombstone near Edward's parents' a few months later…"

I pulled her tightly against my chest, hearing the catch in her voice. The sob that was threatening ripped from her throat, and I held her head and rubbed her back while she cried. "Oh honey," I said softly. "I'm so sorry."

Her sobs quieted after a few minutes, and she wiggled free of my hold to prop herself up again. I touched her face, and she smiled weakly at me. "Thanks. I'm okay, really." I sat up slightly so that I could kiss her lips lightly, my fingers combing carefully through her wild hair.

"Are you sure?" I whispered. I hated the thought that she might again be suffering from the guilt that plagued her previously regarding her mother's death.

She shook her head. "It's not guilt, now. Not mostly, anyway. He just looked so broken when he told me the story. I can't believe that he could even stand to look at me." Her eyes dropped to my chest, and I exhaled with a hiss.

"Ellie," I said in a low voice. "This is _not_ your fault. What Sebastian did is not your doing. He should not be trying to make you feel responsible for this." If he did I would end that quickly.

"Chris, no," she admonished, hearing the oath in my mind. "He doesn't hold me responsible. He did, though. At first." She paused, placing both of her hands against my chest to calm the low rumble vibrating through me. "Shh. At _first_," she repeated. "I can hardly blame him. If someone was responsible for harm coming to you or to Nathaniel," she shuddered and shook her head. "Anyway, when he was essentially frozen in his grief in the cemetery, he thought about avenging her, through me."

I snarled; I couldn't help it.

"But then he met Jonathan, after Sebastian was killed. Jonathan was planning to make me, _us_, a target, and he decided that Rebecca wouldn't want him to be a part of that. So he refused to help. By the time he stumbled upon Nahuel, he was actually interested in meeting me." She shrugged.

"Ellie," I said carefully. "Are you sure he can be trusted?"

She looked at me for a long moment. "No. But I would say that about just about anyone that stumbled upon us right now," she said with a laugh. "I think he means well. But who the fuck knows, really."

I nodded, kissing her again. "I love you. You continue to amaze me."

"Oh shush," she said, smiling and shaking her head. "I love you too." She laid her head back against my chest with a sigh, hugging herself to me. I stroked her hair gently. "I'm sorry these crazy people keep cropping up," she whispered.

"Now you shush," I said. "Maybe this time it won't be so bad, okay?"

"Whatever you say," she said skeptically. "I still can't believe he turned up with Nahuel. How fucking random." She laughed incredulously.

"Yeah, that was certainly interesting," I said.

"Chris?"

"Yeah?"

"Can we not think about anything serious tomorrow? I know we have to talk to Nathaniel, and test out Eleazar's theory, but honestly, I need a day off from the heavy shit."

I chuckled. "You got it. When does the rest of your family get here?"

"The day after tomorrow. I was thinking we could test out his theory the morning before they get here. Less chaos. I don't want to freak him out."

I nodded, my chin brushing against her hair. "That sounds like a good plan to me." Before I could comment further, I found myself distracted by the feeling of Ellie's tongue against my chest, and her hand creeping down my stomach. I half sighed and half moaned at the unexpected sensation. "So the moratorium on serious starts…?" I whispered.

"Now," she growled.

* * *

"What?" I mumbled as Ellie scrambled away from me and started looking for her clothes. "Where are you-?"

"Nathaniel's about to walk in," she said in a rushed whisper as she threw shorts at me.

"Crap," I said, pulling them on. The door handle turned quietly and a little face peeked in.

"Morning!" he cried, bounding into the room and climbing onto the bed.

"Good morning, kiddo," Ellie said, sitting back on the bed and pulling him into a hug. "Did you sleep well?"

Nathaniel nodded, bouncing on his knees beside her. "Are Grandpa and Uncle Jasper here?" he asked excitedly. He had been asleep when we got back from the airport.

"They are," I said, and Nathaniel bolted out the door and down the stairs before I could say another word, calling to his grandfather. "Guess we better get down there, huh?" I said to Ellie with a laugh.

She grinned, waiting for me to finish getting dressed. Before we walked down the stairs, I grabbed her hands and pulled her close to me, kissing her softly. "Hey," I said.

"Hey," she answered, a small smile on her lips.

"I haven't forgotten," I whispered. "No serious today."

"Thanks," she breathed, kissing me again. I knew the verbal reminder to her was entirely unnecessary, but I hoped that the rest of the house would hear it so that no one would level any requests of significance upon her today. We walked down the stairs holding hands and I glanced around for Nathaniel and saw him perched on Carlisle's knee. He nodded to me with a knowing smile, listening enthusiastically as Nathaniel regaled him with questions and silly stories.

Ellie coaxed Nathaniel away from his grandfather long enough to eat some breakfast, and when he finished, we decided to go out, just the three of us, to explore the Denali wilderness. Jasper wanted someone else to go with us, afraid that another one of Jonathan's messengers might track us down, but Ellie put her foot down and then we were off. We ran and hunted, laughed with our son, and delighted in his discoveries. As we ran, we caught the scent of a few mountain lions, and suddenly I had an idea.

_Ellie,_ I thought. _I won't do it if you don't want me to, but how about we let Nathaniel get one? I will help him, of course._ Ellie bit her lip for a second, but a broad smile flashed on her face.

"Nathaniel," I said, knowing he had caught the scent as well. "Take my hand." He complied, looking up at me excitedly as I led him in pursuit. I didn't really even need to coach him, he leapt with me instinctively, and together we took down the predator. I heard Ellie take down her own lion, and she came running up to us right after Nathaniel decided he'd had his fill. The smile on his face was exultant.

"Mama!" he cried and ran into her arms. "Daddy let me have a lion!" Ellie laughed and kissed his face.

"I saw! Uncle Edward will be impressed, those are his favorite," she said with a wink to her son. Ellie looked up at me. "Chris, I got him if you want to nab another – they ran off that way." She nodded her head to the south. I kissed her quickly and took off, only taking a minute to catch up with the fleeing animals. When I finished, I ran back to find Ellie and Nathaniel chasing each other through the trees, their laughter echoing into the forest.

"Who's it?" I called to Ellie.

"I have no idea!" she yelled back to me, laughing.

"Catch me Daddy!" Nathaniel yelled, taking off full speed. Ellie gestured as if to say "after you," so I ran past her after our son. She was fast on my heels, his laughter trailing off in front of us. I could feel my anxiety rising inexplicably as my son remained out of sight for a second longer than I expected and as I closed in on his scent, several things happened at once. Both of our phones began to ring, and familiar, but unexpected scents began to permeate the air around us. As comprehension crashed over me, I head my son's terrified cry.

"Daddy!"

* * *

**reviews? Please? :)**


	10. Mind Games

Chapter 9. Mind Games.

"NO!" Ellie screamed as she tore past me, having realized just a second before me exactly who was waiting for us over the next knoll. As I crossed over the hill three steps behind her, I saw the menacing black cloaks and a snarl ripped from my chest.

"Mommy! Daddy!" Nathaniel sobbed, cowering in front of the looming strangers.

"Come here, sweetie, it's okay," Ellie said soothingly, taking him gently by his shoulders and easing him back.

"Eleanor," Demetri spoke for the first time. "This child belongs to you?"

"Yes. He is our son. I am sorry that he wandered too far, we do not wish to interfere with your business here," she said carefully. She scooped up our trembling son and held him closely to her chest.

"Come on, Ellie," I said, my arm on hers, my eyes not moving from Felix's threatening gaze. "Let's get back. We have no business here."

_They aren't here for any of us, right?_ I asked her silently. She shook her head slightly. I let out a relieved sigh, but did not relax my slightly crouched posture.

Demetri looked at Ellie curiously, and then all of our heads snapped back behind us at the sound of footsteps approaching. Felix's lips curled into a furious snarl.

"Wait!" Ellie cried, holding out one hand. "It's my father. He's bringing one of my sisters, and…" she paused, confusion etched on her face. "Frederick?" She looked at me, and I shrugged.

"Demetri," she said. "If I may be so bold, I am curious as to why you are here."

Demetri smirked. "That is bold, Eleanor. But as it happens, you may not be as entirely unconcerned as you think. We are here in search of one named Jonathan, who I have been told also has the dubious honor of being one of Sebastian's progeny."

"What do you want with Jonathan?" I asked.

"That is Aro's business, I am afraid," Demetri answered with a slight sneer. "Perhaps you have seen him recently?"

Ellie shook her head. "No. I've never met him. Have you actually met him before, Demetri?"

"I have not. I tracked an acquaintance of his near this area, though he has since fled. I was hoping Jonathan himself would be here so that I could get close enough to track him more…efficiently."

"Our dealings with him been indirect," Ellie explained carefully, looking at me anxiously. I guessed that the acquaintance that Demetri referenced was none other than the strange vampire that had followed us. I could see the question in Ellie's eyes as her thoughts broke through into my mind. _How much do we tell them?_

_I don't know_, I answered.

Before Ellie could offer more information to our Volturi visitors, Carlisle and Frederick appeared by our sides, with Bella standing slightly behind. I guessed that Alice sent them but wasn't certain who was included in the Guard's contingent.

"Hello Daddy, Bella, Frederick," Ellie said softly. Carlisle held Ellie's gaze for a long moment, and I saw her nod almost imperceptibly at him.

"Felix, Demetri," Carlisle greeted them.

_Christopher,_ Ellie called to me silently. _Carlisle says not to mention the specifics from the other day. _She recalled the tenor of his thoughts for me. _Only answer _exactly_ what is asked_, he instructed.

"Carlisle," Demetri said pleasantly. "It's nice to see you again. We were just explaining to your daughter that we are here in search of her half-brother. I see a new face has accompanied you; he looks quite a bit like Sebastian as well. What is your business here, stranger?"

"My name is Frederick. Sebastian was my brother. Jonathan is my nephew," Frederick explained solemnly.

"You have an unusual number of relatives for an immortal, Eleanor," Demetri said, eyeing Frederick and Nathaniel before settling his gaze back on my wife. His eyes flicked back toward Frederick. "Do you have any idea where your _nephew_ might be?"

"I do not," Frederick answered simply, shrugging his shoulders impassively.

"Demetri," Carlisle spoke. "We would like to take our leave now, if there are no objections."

"That is fine, Carlisle. Thank you for your time," Demetri responded formally.

Carlisle bowed his head slightly in thanks. "Give our regards to Aro, Caius and Marcus, please."

"Certainly." With that, they disappeared into the forest.

"We'll speak at the house," Carlisle said quietly, leading Ellie by the elbow. We ran back in silence. Ellie carried Nathaniel with one arm and linked her free hand with mine.

I looked over at her with a grim smile. _I can't take you anywhere,_ I thought to her.

When we got back to the house, everyone was gathered in the back yard, huddled together anxiously. As we came into their view, you could feel the relief rolling off the group in waves. Edward ran straight for Bella, crushing her to his chest. He looked up after a moment.

"Carlisle, Ellie, what happened?"

Ellie replayed the conversation for the group.

"You didn't mention your messenger from the other day?" Tanya asked. Ellie shook her head.

"I considered it," Ellie said, "knowing that it might be helpful to them. And of course, it would be helpful to _us_ if they could eliminate the Jonathan issue altogether. But as Carlisle approached, he was screaming at me in my head not too." Ellie shot a look over to her father. "He had some valid points. Namely, there wasn't a way that I could think to explain how I knew so much about the vampire that followed us when he won't have any recollection of actually catching up to _me_. Should he or Jonathan end up in front of Aro, it would be obvious that I had done something to the guy's mind."

"And that is about the last thing we need," Carlisle said, looking very seriously at his daughter. "I am concerned as it is that he will take an interest in you, Eleanor. As soon as Jonathan is apprehended, he will have his confirmation that Sebastian's offspring carry his abilities for mental manipulations. Jonathan surely knows what you were able to do with Valerie at Dartmouth – and now they will know that _you_ have a child."

"Is _that_ what you didn't tell us before?" Nahuel interrupted, staring at Ellie with an expression that I couldn't make sense of.

Ellie nodded, rubbing her temple anxiously. "Sorry. I guess the cat's out of the bag now."

"Were you able to pick anything additional information from their thoughts, Ellie?" Edward asked. I was half-listening as she answered, still studying Nahuel's strange expression.

"Sort of. When I asked Demetri what they wanted with Jonathan, he told me it was Aro's business. I didn't expect him to explain their mission, of course, but I hoped that the question would spark something useful in their minds.

"It seems that Demetri doesn't know _exactly _what Aro wants with Jonathan, but he has what I think is a pretty good guess. He is, as Carlisle alluded, very interested in the possibility of harnessing the potential mental abilities of Sebastian's blood line." Ellie swallowed roughly. "They know Jonathan can manipulate others' minds, though it doesn't seem like they know exactly how it works."

"I wonder how come they haven't targeted you yet," Nahuel mused.

Ellie shrugged. "Aro touched my hand when they came to us with Sebastian…and Joham. At that time I was _simply_ a telepath," she said, punctuating this description with adorable air quotes. "We all know that Aro's already got designs on Edward for that particular skill. I assume that he had hoped to see some sign that I had picked up gifts from my _other_ biological line, but at that point it hadn't manifested. Because I was a hybrid, the ability revealed itself and strengthened very slowly. During our first encounter with Jonathan, I was able to manipulate the human that he was using in his ploy to eradicate any memory of her assignment, essentially. It took tremendous effort."

"And now?" Nahuel pressed.

"And now it doesn't take nearly the effort that it did previously. And apparently it works on vampires."

Everyone processed this information silently, and several eyes shifted to Nathaniel, who had fallen asleep on the run back, with his head resting on my shoulder.

"Carlisle," Garrett spoke, directing the conversation back to the Volturi. "Is there an immediate danger, in your opinion?"

Carlisle shook his head. "I don't believe so. There's no reason for them to think that we have done anything wrong, because frankly we haven't."

Garrett nodded, pulling Kate closer to him. Suddenly, Edward lunged toward Nahuel, pinning him against the side of the house. "NO!" he snarled.

"You wouldn't!" Ellie cried.

"What the hell?" My head snapped back and forth between Edward and Ellie. "What is going on?!"

Ellie whipped her head back toward me. "Remember what Nahuel said the other day – about his fear that the Volturi has his sisters? He was thinking about offering Aro information on me and Nathaniel." Ellie showed me then what she saw flash through Nahuel's mind, the slightest calculation that he wasn't fast enough to repress.

Growls erupted throughout the group. It took everything I had to control my own reaction and not terrify Nathaniel who was still sleeping in my arms. Renesmee appeared at my side holding her hands out for Nathaniel and she quickly disappeared inside with our sleeping child. I saw Jake standing off to the side, shaking with anger.

"You will _not_ hand them my _son_," Ellie roared, baring her teeth just inches from Nahuel's face. "How _could _you?"

"I need to protect _my_ family," he sneered. The roar that ripped from my chest was louder than all the others' combined now that I wasn't holding a sleeping child.

"I will kill you myself," I threatened, moving closer to him.

"NO," said Tanya, her eyes wide, looking at me, then back toward Nahuel. Carlisle blocked my path, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"Christopher, wait."

"Are you kidding me, Carlisle?" I said furiously. "Did you not hear what they said? He knows too much. I won't stand for it, he can't be allowed to put them at risk."

"Christopher," Carlisle said calmly. "Obviously I have no intention of letting _anyone_ hurt my daughter or my grandson. But let's try to remain rational for a moment."

Garrett came to stand beside me, and Jasper beside him. "Carlisle, Christopher is right. He's exposed his intentions. He is quite determined," Jasper argued.

Edward jostled Nahuel roughly and Ellie snarled. Carlisle walked to where they stood, placing a hand on each of their shoulders. Ellie and Edward both relaxed slightly, but Edward did not release his hold. I moved to stand beside Ellie, my eyes fixed on the man that I now saw as an intolerable threat to my family's safety.

Carlisle sighed, a defeated expression coloring his youthful features. "Jasper, Garrett, can you keep him restrained?"

They both nodded and moved to take over. Carlisle nodded to Edward and Ellie and the rest of the frantic group to follow him inside. Ellie collapsed into me as if she were hardly able to stand on her own feet.

"I can't believe it," she murmured.

"What?" Tanya snapped. "Did you think you could still pull his little heart strings?"

"Tanya, are you fucking _serious_?" Ellie shot back. "Think what you want of me, but he's willing to trade a child, Tanya. A _child_. _MY_ child. Over my pile of ashes."

Kate went to stand beside Tanya, placing a hand on her sister's shoulder. It appeared however, as if the gesture was meant to restrain rather than support. "Sister," she said softly. "Eleanor is family. You cannot seriously be willing to forsake our family in this manner. Not when we've lost so much already."

"There must be a peaceful resolution to this," Carlisle vowed. "We don't even know for sure that Nahuel's sisters were ever apprehended, do we?"

"It's his best guess," Ellie said in a rough voice. "But let's face it Daddy, it's not unrealistic." Her head shot toward Edward. "Oh hell, I didn't think of that."

"What?" I asked.

"Edward thinks the Volturi wants to breed them; with Jonathan. I mean we already figured they wanted to create more hybrids when they nabbed Joham and Sebastian. Using the existing female hybrids for breeding makes complete sense. Shit." Her eyes grew wider as she continued to think that through, looking to me with panic etched on her face.

"Chris. We have to do something. They _can't_ know about Nathaniel. If he's showing this much potential now, imagine what he will be like fully-grown. And now they know hybrids can become full-vampires. We can't let them take him."

I heard the choking sound I made as the horror of her realization overcame me, but I didn't realize it was coming from me until I realized that Edward and Jacob were restraining _me_ now. I had lunged toward the door to get back outside to Nahuel.

"Christopher," Edward said. "We won't allow it. I swear." I continued to struggle against them until Ellie came to stand in front of me.

"Chris," she said softly, her expression calmer as she sought to reason with me. She placed her hands on my chest and held my gaze for several seconds as I struggled to control my breathing. I could still feel the rage pulsing through me, my mind forming plans to effectively eliminate the problem, calculating how I could manage the feat with Jasper and Garrett standing guard. I would have wagered that I could talk them into taking my side.

"Chris," my wife repeated my name, regaining my attention. "That may be true, but I'm begging you to hold it together. We will work this out." _And if we can't then I won't stop you_, she added mentally_. _I saw Edward nod from the corner of my eye; signaling that we would have his support if it came to that end as well.

"Eleanor," Eleazar called to my wife, interrupting our silent exchange. "There is another way." She stared at him with wide eyes. "You can solve this problem using your gift," he explained.

Everyone froze. It was one thing to know that Ellie could ward off an unknown, potential combatant with her abilities, but even I could recognize that it was something entirely different to do it to someone who had been perceived to be one of our own.

"No," gasped Tanya. Eleazar put a hand on her shoulder.

"Tanya, it makes the most sense and will protect us all," he said coaxingly. She glared at him.

"Of all the damned timing," muttered Edward. Bella shot him a confused look. "Tanya has grown rather, _attached_, to Nahuel, obviously. She's not willing, even in her mind, to call it more than that, it seems, but she's terrified that Ellie's manipulations will wipe whatever feelings Nahuel may have away."

"Shut up, Edward," Tanya snapped.

"Tanya, I'm not going to interfere with his…feelings for you," Ellie said softly, turning to face her furious cousin. "Really, I think Eleazar makes a good point. It makes sense. Say the Volturi _does_ have his sisters, and say he gets in front of Aro. You realize that everyone in this room will be implicated because you _all_ know about this? There are too many people here that Aro would love to get his hands on to risk that kind of exposure. Surely you must understand that."

"How do you expect me to look him in the eye knowing what you've done?" she whispered to Ellie.

"I don't know how you will look him in the eye knowing what he _would_ have done, Tanya," she retorted.

Tanya glared at Ellie for several seconds before a resigned expression settled over her face. "You're right, of course," she conceded. "I understand why you have to do this."

Ellie gave Tanya a small smile and then looked up at me.

"Are you sure about this, Ellie?" I asked her, wishing that Alice wasn't on a plane in that moment. It would have been much more comforting to have assurances from her that this would work, however I guessed that since Alice's ability to see hybrids seemed to depend on her frequent contact and familiarity with them, and since Nahuel hadn't fit that description in many years, that she was unlikely to be able to see much regarding the future ramifications of choosing this path.

"I am sure," she said quietly, but confidently. "I can do this. I hate it, but I can do it."

I pulled her tightly to my chest, trying to infuse all of my faith in her into the gesture. _We will protect him_, I thought to her. She nodded against me and unwound herself reluctantly from my arms, keeping hold of one of my hands as she turned to go back outside where Jasper and Garrett were holding Nahuel.

She glanced at Carlisle who smiled encouragingly at her. As Ellie walked outside, Carlisle cautiously draped an arm around Tanya's shoulders, giving her a gentle squeeze before following Ellie out. I felt pang of sorrow for the guilt Tanya must feel for her part in this, the depths of the emotions that she didn't want to reveal to us all written plainly on her face. I followed Ellie outside and watched her as she squared her shoulders and stood before Nahuel. He glared at her.

"This is what it's come to? You're going to work your little magic trick on me now?" he sneered.

"You've left me no choice, Nahuel. I am truly sorry," she whispered. Nahuel looked away from her obstinately. "Nahuel," she said firmly. "Look at me."

"You've got to be kidding me," he said, still staring away from her.

"I can make you cooperate," Jasper threatened.

"Jazz," Ellie admonished softly. "That won't be necessary. Nahuel," she repeated his name again, taking his face in her hands. He flinched from her touch, and I was reminded that he was once familiar with the touch of her hands, when she was like him. I suddenly was assaulted by images created in my own imagination of the two of them together. I bit my tongue to keep myself from hissing and squeezed my eyes shut. Edward bumped my shoulder.

"Get it together," he whispered.

_Sorry,_ I replied. My eyes opened and focused on Ellie, and I could see the intense concentration on her face. I realized that she looked like she was already communicating with him, but that she wasn't speaking out loud. I glanced at Edward. _Is she…?_

Edward gave a hard nod. He was studying the exchange closely. "It's done," Edward whispered to me after another minute or two, his eyes slightly unfocused as he continued to pick through Nahuel's thoughts. Ellie's expression softened, and I could see the grief on her face. I knew that it truly pained her to do this to someone that she had once been close to.

She slowly took her hands from off of his face, and before she turned to walk away, I heard her whisper so faintly that it almost could have been a trick of the wind blowing lightly around us.

"Forgive me."


	11. The Honor of Your Presence

Chapter 10. The Honor of Your Presence.

As daybreak crept over the Denali coven's home, the darkened atmosphere had brightened slightly with the arrival of Esme, Alice, Emmett and Rosalie. Renesmee, who had largely kept to herself since the previous afternoon's events, flew to her grandmother's side and snuggled against her on the couch. Ellie explained to me later that Renesmee's concern about a possible pregnancy had turned out to be a false alarm, and she suspected that our niece had mixed emotions about this outcome. Tanya greeted the rest of the Cullen family with her usual graciousness as she tried to repress her internal strife over what had happened.

Ellie and I had remained quietly in the background as Nathaniel slept through the night upstairs. I noticed that Ellie's gaze frequently ghosted toward Tanya. As sunlight began to stream in through the windows, Esme turned and wordlessly held out her arm toward her daughter, beckoning Ellie to sit by her. No one had spoken about what happened earlier with Nahuel, but I knew that Alice would have seen Ellie's decision, even if she couldn't see Nahuel clearly. Ellie curled up beside her mother and I slipped upstairs to check on Nathaniel. I realized that we would have to address the issue of his own latent abilities sooner rather than later.

As I sat down beside the sleeping child, I heard Tanya and Nahuel excuse themselves. It sounded like she had enticed him to come with her to a smaller cabin even more remotely situated further north. I was glad for this and hoped that the absence of their physical presence would abate some of Ellie's guilt. A soft rap on the doorframe startled me slightly, I hadn't noticed approaching footsteps.

"Sorry," said Frederick in a quiet voice. "I just wanted to apologize for my part in creating this additional strife for your family." He looked down at Nathaniel, smiling a little. "I know Eleanor has been through much in her life, and so much at the hands of her own blood relations."

"She has," I whispered. "I fear it's only just beginning."

"If the Volturi are interested in her lowly brother Jonathan, it's only a matter of time before that interest focuses on her," Frederick said grimly. "In my grief I was blind to just how much like his father he is in temperament, and yet how inferior he is in his abilities. In some ways though I feel that makes him much more dangerous to your family. Whereas Eleanor," he paused, saying her name with a reverence that made me look up at him in surprise. "Eleanor is not only gifted, she is _powerful_. I know she fears abusing her power, but the larger danger is that she will be abused for it."

I swallowed roughly. This is the fear that had been circling my consciousness. How do I protect her, and now Nathaniel, from those would seek to do her harm to harness her abilities. "I don't know how to protect them," I admitted softly. "The thing with Nahuel was a band-aid, but you're right, sooner or later they are bound to get curious." It seemed suddenly as if the universe had aligned in such a way that it was impossible to navigate a safe course. The Volturi now knew that hybrids could become full vampires, and they knew that Ellie and I had a child. It seemed unlikely to me that Aro would sit idly by knowing how the Cullen clan had expanded in its size and scope.

I looked again at the sleeping boy beside me, overwhelmed suddenly by his total trust in us to keep him safe and protected. He had not known true fear in his young life, and it terrified me that we might not be able to keep it that way.

"With your permission," Frederick said, looking toward the ground, "and assuming there's no objection from Eleanor or the others, I would like to stay close to your family, at least for a while. If she is willing I would like to get to know her. If nothing else, I owe it to her mother, my Rebecca, to do my part to protect her daughter from any more suffering if possible. This is my penance for my horribly misplaced trust in Sebastian."

He looked back at me and held my gaze for a long moment. "When I first realized who you were," I said slowly, "I admit I didn't want you here. As you have pointed out, Ellie has suffered enough from the seemingly endless parade of menacing relations." I paused and Frederick nodded his understanding. "However, I believe that you are sincere, and there enough people here more skilled than I at ferreting out the truth that I am confident in that assessment. I think your connection to her mother might bring her some peace. Perhaps you can bring each other some measure of peace."

Frederick smiled slightly. "Perhaps," he said wistfully.

"If she does not wish you to stay away, I have no objection to your presence," I added.

Not long after my conversation with Frederick, Ellie silently crept into the room, placing a hand on my shoulder. I put my hand over hers and led her into the adjoining bedroom, where we stayed for the next few hours, until Nathaniel awoke. As we lay together, neither of us spoke of the conversation that took place between Frederick and me, though I knew she must have heard it.

The remainder of our time in Denali was peaceful. Carmen in particular paid special attention to Ellie, though her efforts did not erase fully the troubled expression from Ellie's face.

Before our departure, we did conduct the experiments requested by Eleazar. As he predicted, her persuasive abilities did not seem to work on me. Interestingly, her gift did work on Edward and Renesmee, as well as others in the family, excluding Bella. Frederick was also immune to her ability. However, since we knew Sebastian had been able to get in my head, my protection was likely limited to Ellie and our son, given my connection as Ellie's sire and Nathaniel's father.

We also attempted to recreate the incident between Nathaniel and Emmett to see how much control he had in his apparent ability. He was in fact able to do make you think he was gone quite intentionally. As Eleazar predicted, I was invulnerable to his ability, while Ellie, however, was not.

"I don't understand," Carlisle had pondered aloud. "If Nathaniel and Christopher could be protected from Eleanor's gift of mind control, why is the reverse not true for Eleanor? We know Sebastian's gift worked on her since she never detected his presence, and of course from the strange dream she had that night in Seattle, and now it seems Nathaniel's gift affects her as well. If there is some kind of protection that results from a blood connection – or venom," he added, glancing at me, " – why isn't Ellie immune?"

"I will admit this confuses me as well," Eleazar replied. "My best guess would be that her telepathic mind makes her more susceptible."

"Fantastic," Ellie mumbled, looking annoyed by the day's revelations. I was relieved when it was time to return home. Ellie invited Frederick to ride with us, which delighted Nathaniel, who had taken a liking to his great-uncle.

When we got back home, we collectively decided that it was in everyone's interest if we began working with Nathaniel to increase his control, and hopefully decrease the potency of any arguments regarding the dangers of a hybrid child possessing such a gift. Ellie expressed to me her relief at how much control Nathaniel already possessed privately one night when we had stolen away to Boston.

"I hope it can keep him safe," she whispered into the darkness as I held her against my chest. I wanted to vow to her that _we _would keep him safe, and that I would keep her safe, and I did in my mind. But I knew she could sense the plaguing fear that I could never hide from her completely. "I don't want this," she said, her voice trembling. "I don't want this _power,_" she spit out the word that harkened back to my talk with Frederick several weeks prior.

I gently rolled us so that she was lying on the pillow, still within the circle of my arms, and I propped myself up on my elbow so I could lean over her and kiss her softly.

"Chris," she whispered. "Alice has been watching them. The Volturi. I mean, she's always watched just in case, knowing how Aro covets her and Edward. But she's watched more carefully since Denali."

We hadn't spoken of this, but I wasn't surprised. "I know, sweetheart," I said. She shook her head.

"No, you don't. She usually sees flashes, nothing that seems to impact us directly, but enough that she knows she would see if something changed. I caught her trying yesterday, and again today. There was nothing."

I willed my body not to react, but I could feel my eyes widen and my muscles tightening. She closed eyes as I held her, rolling again to my back and crushing her to me. "They have Jonathan," I said, seeing the meaning of her words. I felt her nod against my chest and sighed. "It won't be long now, then."

"No," she said. "It won't."

The next evening, Frederick came by the house. He would be accompanying us back to New Hampshire the following day. When Ellie took Nathaniel up to bed, I told him about Alice's visions, or the apparent lack thereof.

"Hmm. That's troubling. Does anyone else know?" he asked.

I shrugged. "She said she 'caught' Alice so I assume no? Maybe Edward. Though surely Alice knows that Ellie saw that."

Frederick shook his head. Before either of us could comment further, Ellie appeared at the bottom of the stairs. She raised her eyebrow at me as she walked into the room.

"Hello, Frederick," she said pleasantly.

"Eleanor," he said, smiling.

"You can call me Ellie, you know. I'm only Eleanor when I've pissed someone off," she said with a grin, nudging my shoulder with hers as she sat down beside me.

Frederick chuckled but shook his head. "Eleanor suits you. Your mother would have approved."

Ellie smiled shyly and looked down at the ground. "Thanks," she said quietly. I put my arm around her, rubbing her arm gently. "So," she said, looking up at us with a scrutinizing glare, "you two were catching up when I walked in."

"Sorry," I said with a grimace.

"It's okay. I was actually going to mention it tonight anyway. I want to talk to Alice when we go back tomorrow."

"Have you mentioned any of this to your father?" Frederick asked. Ellie shook her head.

"I don't know if anyone else has. I'm sure Chris is right that Edward's probably seen the same thing I did. I'm not sure if Alice will have said anything or not, even to Jasper. She gets so frustrated when her vision is interfered with like this."

"We will talk to everyone tomorrow when we go back," I said, squeezing Ellie's knee. There was nothing more that could be done tonight.

As sunlight started to fill the living room, we could hear Nathaniel as he thundered down the stairs toward us.

"Uncle Frederick!" Nathaniel cried excitedly, using the title he had unilaterally bestowed upon the newfound relative a few days after returning from Denali. The first time he referred to Frederick as Uncle, mirror images of shock appeared on both Ellie's and Frederick's faces. When she registered the expressions that I saw in my mind, she broke up into a fit of laughter, and Nathaniel took that as an apparent blessing of the use of the endearment and he'd used it consistently since. Ellie herself had clearly come to like Frederick – it was fascinating to me to see the similarities in their personalities as they relaxed around one another.

A few hours later we had piled into the car to head back to New Hampshire. I watched Ellie from the corner of my eye, knowing she was nervous about talking to Alice. I had a similar sense of foreboding about the possibilities that the Volturi leaders may soon refocus their attentions onto our family, but I tried to remain hopeful that this was simply unwarranted paranoia and that Jonathan, if he had indeed been apprehended, was being adjudicated for some unrelated offense that had nothing to do with us.

Ellie let out a cynical chuckle at this thought. "That would be nice, wouldn't it?" she said skeptically. I reached out and took her hand.

"Listen," I said in a low voice that Nathaniel would not hear, though I knew Frederick was listening from the back. "We will talk to everyone and see what they think. But until there is something specific to worry about, let's try not to dwell on what _might_ happen, okay?"

She nodded but did not meet my gaze. I caught Frederick eyes in the rearview mirror and his mouth was set in a line, his eyes shifted toward Ellie's worried stare.

When we arrived at the house, everyone was gathered; Alice had seen that we wanted to speak with her and the rest of the family at one time.

We filed into the dining room where everyone had crowded around the table. I held out a chair for Ellie and she sat, Nathaniel in her lap. I sat down beside her and Frederick stood off in the corner. Ellie looked around the room, taking in everyone's serious expressions and getting a measure of their thoughts, I assumed.

"So I take it that my guess isn't too far off then?" she said vaguely, looking between Alice and Edward.

"I can't say exactly, since you know my vision is limited when comes to hybrids, but I've been focusing as hard as I can to get some confirmation that Jonathan is there, focusing on what you've been able to show me from Valerie and your other little visitor," Alice explained, "and what you've gathered from Frederick's recollections."

Ellie nodded. "Your visions seemed to draw blanks the other day Alice," she said softly. "I heard you focusing on the Volturi before we left for Boston. I didn't see the flashes you usually find."

"Right," Alice confirmed. "After you left, Jasper and I left the house for a while so I could focus better. I worked all night focusing on what I know about Jonathan and I came up with this."

I watched Ellie closely as Alice's vision hit her. I didn't realize until my own sight shifted that Ellie was simultaneously sharing the thoughts with me. Alice ran through the images several times; it was difficult to piece together what I was seeing in the indistinct flashes, but the more closely I studied them, the more I understood. I could see the cloaked brothers standing together in what I assumed was the ancient castle in Volterra, and then she shifted the scene to another face that I recognized as Jonathan. The image was fuzzy at best, and the muffled words spoken by one of the cloaked three were impossible for me to understand. Before my vision cleared, I saw the final image of a hand clasping one of Jonathan's.

"What was that the voice said?" I asked, rubbing my eyes. The poor quality of the images and the speed at which Alice flew through them left me feeling a little disoriented.

"It's hard to make out," Edward answered for Alice, "but to Alice and me it sounds like 'Tell me about your sister.'"

"I don't suppose he has another sister floating out there somewhere, huh?" Ellie quipped, glancing up at Frederick.

He chuckled. "Not that I am aware of, unfortunately. It seems what Alice has seen is consistent with what Christopher said you had already theorized."

"Ellie," Carlisle addressed his daughter, speaking for the first time since we sat down at the table. "This doesn't necessarily mean that anything bad will happen. Aro is curious by his very nature. Try to remember that in general the Volturi's primary concern is maintaining order and the rule of the law. No one here has broken any laws, and I believe that with the work that has been done recently to determine the strength and stability of little Nathaniel's powers, it can be clearly demonstrated that he is of no more threat to our secret and to the law than any of the other hybrid vampire children that have come before him, yourself included Eleanor, should such a demonstration ever even prove necessary."

"Do you think they will come here, Carlisle?" Jacob asked, a calculating expression on his face as his arm tightened around Nessie's shoulders.

Carlisle shrugged. "I honestly don't know. I would hope that Aro wouldn't put us through another performance like their last visit."

"Carlisle," Frederick said. "If I may?"

Carlisle gestured for him to speak.

"Thank you. I hope that what you say here is what truly comes to pass – that the reference to Jonathan's sister in Alice's vision was merely an exercise of Aro's pursuit of knowledge. But I must admit that I have my serious doubts. As I have mentioned to Christopher, it will not have escaped the notice of the Volturi that your family continues to grow, not only in numbers, but also in its power. Look around this room," he said, waving his hands out in front of him slowly in a wide half-circle, briefly meeting the eyes of the family's gifted members, his gaze resting finally on Ellie and then Nathaniel. "Jonathan's abilities only harness a fraction of what Sebastian could do, and what Ellie has proven what she can do. Aro will tire of him quickly. But more importantly, he could see your family's size and strength as a threat to his own empire."

"Frederick, no one here has any designs on challenging the authority of the Volturi," Carlisle replied patiently.

"Oh, I know that. But Aro covets what is yours, Carlisle, what is your _family's_." Frederick paused, his eyes shifting to look toward me now. "As such," he continued, "he will target what is _yours_, Christopher."

The overwhelming silence that followed Frederick's speech eventually signaled the end of the meeting. Slowly everyone stood and slipped quietly out of the room, everyone lost in their own thoughts and anxieties as they processed the likelihood of impending dangers. Carlisle squeezed Ellie's shoulder as before stepping away, and she nodded slightly in response to something that he thought.

When we were the last to remain in the dining room, Nathaniel reached out for me and I pulled him into my lap. "Daddy," he said. "Are we in trouble?"

"Shh," I whispered, kissing his hair, not sure how to answer, but not wanting to lie to him either. "We don't know yet, but we are going to do everything we can to keep you safe." Ellie leaned her head on my shoulder, and I shifted Nathaniel slightly so that I could reach my arm across both of hers.

That night, as Nathaniel slept, I pulled my reluctant wife away to hunt. She had hardly spoken for the rest of the day, except for when she was trying to keep a sense of normalcy for our son. I know we both were troubled at the impact this was already having on him, but I also had a responsibility to my wife, and I was worried that the added stress would threaten her control. We ran into the forest together, Ellie pushing her legs harder until she passed me, running ahead of me for several miles. She startled me when she stopped suddenly, I nearly ran into her trying to stop myself.

"Ellie?"

She grinned at me. "Yeah?"

"Are you okay?" I put my hands on her arms. She reached up on her toes and kissed me hard, surprising me again.

"Mmm," she murmured, running her tongue along my lips. "I am right now."

I had intended for our hunting excursion to be brief, but Ellie made it clear that she had other designs on our time alone. I happily surrendered my plans for hers, and we made love for hours through the night. Her need overwhelmed me, and it wasn't until the sun began to break through the trees that I finally withdrew myself from her body. She groaned at my absence, and I chuckled weakly.

"I think we forgot to hunt, love," I said, kissing the top of her head as I pulled her to my chest. "Nathaniel will probably be awake soon." She giggled.

"Oops," she said, kissing my chest and nipping my skin. "I guess we ought to do that, huh?"

I rolled her over so that her back was pressed into the soft ground beneath us, the weight of my body caging her. "Soon," I whispered, bending my head to kiss her neck, my hand running down her shoulder, over one of her breasts and around her waist, holding her tightly against me as I slipped back inside of her. She arched her back; her eyes squeezed shut and her chest pressing into mine as I moved in her. Her hands clawed at my back and I growled softly in her ear as her nails dragged across my skin. She groaned in response and bucked her hips toward mine.

I intended to worship her slowly, unlike the frantic passion we shared through the night, but watching my wife writhe beneath me was threatening to quickly undo me. Her fingers threaded in my hair, pulling my face to hers and I could feel her moan in my throat as her tongue assaulted mine. I grabbed her hips and slammed into her, losing focus of my earlier intent as her walls clamped down on me, drawing out my release. She pulled my hair as she came around me and I cried out in surprise at the sensation. As our movements steadied, I pressed my lips softly to hers, leaving quick, gentle kisses against her mouth.

"Now we should hunt," I whispered. She smiled up at me, glorious in aftermath of our lovemaking. She pouted as I pulled away again. "Come on, love." I passed her clothes to her and found my own as well and we were off and running toward the scent of a herd of deer within a minute.

After we fed, we ran toward the house with less intensity than when we left it, both of us at least partially sated from our hunt and the activities that preceded it. Suddenly, Ellie's expression hardened and her stride quickened.

"Oh no!" she gasped as she outpaced me in her hurry.

"Ellie!" I cried to her, pushing my legs faster to catch up. "What's wrong?"

She didn't answer, but the house was before us now. She tore in through the back door, and I was right on her heels. She nearly skidded to a halt in front of her father, who held a large, ornate envelope in his hands. Inside the envelope was a plain white card, emblazoned with an emblem that I recognized immediately as the symbol of the Volturi.

"NO," she snarled quietly as she scooped up Nathaniel, who was standing among his confused family members.

"What does it say?" I asked urgently.

Carlisle glanced up at me and then looked back down at the paper in his hand.

_Carlisle,_

_I was most pleased to hear of the latest addition to your family. I would like to request the honor of your presence here in Volterra so we may have a chance to welcome your newest grandchild personally. _

_Warm regards,_

_Aro_


	12. Volterra

Chapter 11. Volterra.

"NO!" I cried this time, echoing Ellie's exclamation.

A dozen voices erupted at once in various states of shock. "What are they playing at Carlisle?" asked Emmett, moving to stand by his sister and nephew.

"He expects us to just bring Nathaniel to _Volterra_? Is he _insane_?" I shouted as I looked around at the confused faces of our family; all eyes were staring toward Carlisle.

"Well, hold on a moment," Esme said gently, putting her hand on my shoulder. "It doesn't exactly say that…"

"Mom, be serious. What else could they really be expecting?" Ellie argued, clutching Nathaniel more tightly to her chest. He was clinging to her shirt and as she bent her head down to kiss him her hair fell like a curtain over him, partially obstructing him from sight.

"They are playing with you, now," Frederick growled. He was staring toward my son now, a fierce, protective expression darkening his features. "You can't take him there," he implored me directly now. "It won't be safe."

"I have _no_ intention doing anything of the sort," I vowed, moving to stand beside Ellie.

"Christopher," Carlisle addressed me, speaking for the first time in several minutes. "I think Ellie is probably right," he said quietly.

"I won't allow it," I said firmly, enunciating each word slowly.

Ellie looked at me – I couldn't read the expression on her face. After a few seconds she shifted her gaze toward Alice, whose eyes were unfocused, her fingertips digging into Jasper's arm as she clung to him for support.

"Alice," she said softly.

"I know, Ellie," she said, her voice strained. "I'm trying."

"Do you need me to clear out?" Jacob asked. Alice shook her head.

"No, it's not you that's the problem. I need consensus among the rest of you, I'm seeing flashes that don't make sense."

She looked back to Ellie and then to me, and I realized that Ellie and I were not united in our thoughts.

"Ellie, _no_," I pleaded. "How can you even consider-"

"Chris," she cut me off. "Please try to understand. If we don't go, what's to stop them from coming here? If they really intended to do us harm, they wouldn't have sent an invitation by courier. Right?" She turned to Carlisle for affirmation.

He sighed. "She's right, Christopher. That's not to say that there is no danger, of course. My guess is that as hybrids increasingly become a part of our culture, he does not want to appear as if the Volturi is moving against relatively helpless children." He paused and shook his head, looking worriedly toward his grandson. "Frederick's earlier point from our last discussion is of course exactly right. This family has grown in number and in the scope of our abilities, and it does not surprise me that Aro wishes to gather more information. I think if we can go there and make it clear that none among us are a danger to our secret or to the Volturi itself, we return home in peace."

I growled angrily. "I am _not _using my son as pawn in Aro's mind game. And what about Ellie? Have you all forgotten the panic over Nahuel's plan to go to the Volturi and trade her _and _Nathaniel in exchange for his sisters? The efforts she went to change his recollections so that the Volturi wouldn't find out?"

"Chris," said Ellie. "We knew that would only be a temporary fix." She scowled and looked at the floor. I hated reminding her of that; I knew she still questioned whether it was the right decision. When she looked back at me, there was no questioning the fear in her eyes. "Christopher. Please. If they come here intent on taking any of us there will be no stopping them. If we go now at their request, maybe we can put an end to this."

"Carlisle," Edward spoke up. "Bella and I will go with you."

"NO!" Ellie snapped at her brother. "Are you kidding me? The more of us that show up there, the more incentive he will have to pull something. You know he wants you both." Edward glared at his sister; I could only imagine the mental argument occurring between them.

"Edward," Jasper interceded. "Ellie's right. You need to stay with the family. Let's not discount the possibility that they are _trying _to separate us."

Edward surprisingly had no response to this. Bella bit her lip and shot a sideways glance at her husband. "Well," she said. "You should at least let me come."

"No," Ellie said again.

"Ellie," she argued. "What about Jane? Or Alec?" Ellie defiantly shook her head.

"Bella, you would probably be best bargaining chip Aro could possibly ask for," Ellie countered firmly. "Aro knows he would fly off the fucking handle if they so much as looked at you the wrong way." She cocked her eyebrow at her brother, daring him to argue with her. "Plus, I can only imagine how much that would irritate them if we are able to blatantly flout their abilities like that. Though obviously I hope to god that wouldn't be necessary in the first place." She shuddered.

We argued over who would go for the next several hours, breaking only to feed Nathaniel and put him to bed. When Ellie came back down stairs after our son was asleep, we were all seated in the living room, still quietly discussing logistics and possible theories. I pulled her into my lap, tucking her head under my chin. She was quiet, and I knew she was absorbing the thoughts swirling around in her mind.

"When do we leave?" she whispered. We had decided just a few minutes prior that we would all leave for London as soon as the arrangements could be made. From there Eleanor, Carlisle, Esme, Nathaniel and I would fly to Florence and continue on to Volterra.

"Mom," Ellie said.

"I am not discussing this, Eleanor. If your father is going, then so am I," Esme said firmly.

Thirty-six hours later, we were boarding the private jet that Emmett and Carlisle arranged for the journey. Emmett and Jasper were to pilot the aircraft and we would land in London just after sunset. We would spend the night in London with the family to give Alice an opportunity to watch for changes in her visions. The flashes she had seen were still disturbingly indistinct.

Ellie and I had spent most of the previous day alone with Nathaniel. We wanted to keep him away from the preparations, but of course as soon as he saw the opportunity he began peppering us with questions, having witnessed our distress after hearing the missive from Aro.

"Mommy, why does everyone look so scared?" he had whispered from under her hair as she buried her face in his curls.

Her eyes flashed to my face. "Because we don't know what it is that Aro wants to discuss."

"He wants our powers?" he asked, astute as ever.

Ellie sighed and stroked his hair lovingly as she tried to explain. "Aro is fascinated by people who can do different things. For example, your Aunt Alice and Uncle Edward, and your Aunt Bella, too, for that matter. Recently, he found someone else. You know how your Uncle Edward and Uncle Frederick are both related to us? Well, you have another Uncle, too, my half-brother. He went to see Aro and we _think_ that's why Aro wants to talk to us now too."

"But you have met Aro before," he pointed out.

"True, but I could only hear thoughts then. Because I was like you at the time, my gift was able to strengthen and change."

Nathaniel looked up at her with a serious, determined expression. "They won't hurt you, Mommy. I won't allow it," he vowed.

I hadn't realized that I had been holding my breath as they spoke, but I exhaled forcefully, the air hissing through my teeth. Two pairs of eyes shot to my face as I rushed to take them both in my arms. "Nathaniel, do not worry about that," I whispered roughly.

* * *

I shook my head to clear it of the memory, and looked to my left. Nathaniel lay sleeping between us as we waited for the plane to take off. He had fallen asleep in the car on the way to the airport, having only slept fitfully the night before. Ellie had watched over him intently, showing me his dreams - dark flashes of hooded figures, Ellie screaming to him in the background. Edward gasped, seeing the images in my mind.

_Nathaniel's dream last night, _I thought. Edward's expression hardened and he nodded once.

When Nathaniel awoke we had been flying for a little more than two hours, and he rushed to the window near where Frederick was sitting, exhilarated by the site of the clouds surrounding us. This was his first time in an airplane. With Nathaniel no longer between us, Ellie had curled up into my side. She had hardly spoken since we boarded the plane.

"Hey," I whispered into her hair. She pressed her face against my chest but didn't say anything. I squeezed her more tightly against me. "It's going to be okay." As I said the words I tried to focus my own thoughts, willing my mind to believe this were true.

Several hours later we were circling over London. Carlisle had taken Nathaniel into the cockpit, and I could hear him buckling him into one of the seats for our landing. We deplaned quickly and headed for the fleet of Land Rovers that Carlisle had rented and sped off toward the hotel. If we were here under less stressful circumstances, I would have paid more attention to the arrangements Esme had made before we left, but until we got out of Volterra whole I simply didn't care. When we arrived at check-in counter I learned that she had blocked off two of several wings available within the hotel, each containing multiple suites that would accommodate us all, one on the sixth floor and one on the seventh.

We settled into the expansive, adjacent suites within the seventh-floor wing where we would spend the next day, gathering anxiously in the large sitting area. Ellie and I emerged from the bedroom where Nathaniel was sleeping shortly before sunrise to find Jasper, Carlisle and Edward ensconced in another discussion of Aro's motivations and possible outcomes following our meeting in Volterra. Esme sat beside her husband, clutching his hand and casting anxious glances back toward her daughter.

Alice was sitting in the farthest corner of the room from where Jacob and Renesmee were reclined together on a couch, and Ellie's eyes locked on her nearly omniscient sister's face.

"What can she see?" I asked quietly.

"Still only vague flashes of us talking. Sometimes it's just with Aro and Jonathan, sometimes Caius and Marcus are in the room as well," she said, looking perplexed. "I have no idea what that's about."

I nodded numbly as Ellie made a face. "What?" I asked.

She shook her head. "I am going to have _such_ a headache after this," she joked. "Aro is going to touch every one of us. Ugh."

I placed a kiss on her forehead. "He's going to make me break my promise," I growled, referring to my vow that Aro would never see the memories I shared with her after her last encounter with the Volturi. She reached an arm around my waist and squeezed in response.

"As long as we get through this, I'll forgive you," she said with a wink. "Oh Alice you are _not_ serious," she groaned suddenly.

I looked from Ellie to Alice, confused by her abrupt complaint. Alice hopped up from the floor and flashed across the room to stand in front of us.

"I am absolutely serious Eleanor. You need to walk in there looking fucking fantastic," she said, ignoring Esme's scowl at her language. "You are powerful and you need to look the part. Believe it or not, I'm glad your eyes still have some red in them."

Ellie hissed at her sister, glaring furiously.

"See?" Alice said with a smirk. "You're terrifying. Let's go." She grabbed Ellie and Esme and dragged them into the other room to play dress-up. "Christopher and Carlisle, you're up next!" she shouted before she shut the door.

When Ellie emerged from the other room, Alice had dressed her in jet-black skinny jeans that clung to every graceful curve of her amazing legs, and a metallic top that draped open in a slight 'V,' cinching at her waist with a dark purple jacket over top. When she walked up to me, I didn't have to bend as far as I usually did to kiss her, thanks to the ridiculous heels that her sister had paired with the outfit. Her hair fell in soft curls over her shoulders and she did indeed exude power; determination blazed in her eyes. I could hardly tear my eyes from her, even as Alice shoved Carlisle and me out of the room for our turn. I caught a brief glance at Esme, who was dressed similarly in dark clothes and insanely high heels.

"Jesus," I muttered as Alice threw clothes at me. I caught them, not really taking notice of what she had tossed to me, and headed toward the bathroom to dress. Apparently she had decided that we all needed to dress in dark colors, and I chuckled to myself at the vampire cliché she had us perpetuating. I pulled on the black slacks, gray sweater and black leather jacket quickly and appeared next to Ellie only a moment later.

She smiled appreciatively at me. "I like," she whispered in my ear.

"I look like a hit man," I scoffed. Carlisle laughed as he emerged.

"You really do, Christopher," he said with a grin. I rolled my eyes and turned to face Alice.

"Shouldn't we be going for something a little more…subtle?"

Alice shook her head. "Nope." Her head whipped around toward the room where Nathaniel was sleeping. "Aha!" she cried. "My last subject is awake, I will get him."

All joking was set aside when it was time to make our goodbyes at the hotel a few hours later. Edward and Ellie were engaged in a tense, silent conversation for several minutes before he grabbed his sister and nephew into a hug, and then passed them off to Bella. Similar scenes took place all over the room as she was passed around to her siblings. We returned to Heathrow for our flight to Florence, having decided to fly commercial since it was only five of us, leaving the chartered jet for the rest of the family to use if needed.

"What were you and Edward discussing?" I whispered to Ellie later, after we had taken our seats on the plane. She shook her head, smiling sadly. I didn't press for more information. I knew she had been worried about what Aro might pick out of our minds, so much so that she begged Jasper to cut the strategizing short, for fear that something might be used against us.

After the seat belt sign went off, Nathaniel wiggled free of his seat and climbed over to where Carlisle and Esme were seated, snuggling between them. Ellie lifted the armrest between us and leaned against me so that her back was against my side, her head leaning on my shoulder as I wrapped my arm around her. We didn't speak during the three-hour flight, and though she didn't open her mind to me, I knew her thoughts were worried. I squeezed her against me and kissed her head before letting her slip back into her seat as the call came to prepare to land.

Rosalie had called ahead and arranged a car for us to drive from Florence to Volterra, and despite my anxiety I couldn't help but whistle appreciatively at the gun-metal gray Maserati Quattroporte she reserved.

"Dibs," called Carlisle, lightening the mood momentarily. "You can drive it on the way back, Christopher," he added with a wink.

"Boys and their toys," Esme muttered with a smile in response to Ellie's rolling eyes. I sat up front next to my father-in-law as the girls climbed in the back with Nathaniel between them. We raced under the darkened skies of the Italian countryside, and I heard Ellie gasp as the majestic walled city rose before us.

"Volterra," Carlisle said quietly.

"You lived here, Grandpa?" Nathaniel asked from the backseat.

"Briefly," he answered. "Many, many years ago." He looked back at Ellie. "I'm going to park just outside the entrance to the city. I think approaching the castle on foot is probably the safest choice."

She nodded and tightened her grip on our son. As we existed the vehicle, I picked Nathaniel up with one arm and grabbed Ellie's hand. I had never before visited Volterra, but Ellie had more recently shown me glimpses she had seen in Edward and Carlisle's memories, and from Alice's indistinct visions of our visit. As we walked through the ancient city, I was struck by how peaceful it was. Nathaniel's head swiveled around, eyes wide as he took in everything he could see.

Carlisle led us expertly through the city, and I briefly wondered what Ellie was seeing in his mind as he walked the once-familiar streets. She grinned slightly as this thought crossed my mind and I vowed to ask her when we made it out of here, whole. Her expression hardened; I recognized the determination in her eyes.

Carlisle paused in front of an entryway with solid double doors blocking our path.

"There are guards just inside," Ellie said softly. "At least one of them knows you, Daddy. They are expecting us."

Carlisle smiled at his daughter. "My name is Carlisle Cullen," he said at a volume only slightly louder than his normal conversational tone. "I request admittance. We are here upon invitation from Aro."

The door opened slowly and a cloaked figure appeared in the shadow. "Welcome, Carlisle. It's been a long time."

"Thank you, Darragh," Carlisle answered the guardsman. We followed him to an elevator and were taken to an ornate lobby, where we were instructed to wait. We sat down and Nathaniel scrambled to sit in Ellie's lap, burying her face in his hair. He was trembling now.

"It's okay, honey," she whispered in his ear. "It's going to be all right." Her eyes snapped up to a figure approaching us.

"Cullens," said the apathetic female voice. "Interesting." Jane emerged from the shadow of the long hallway behind her. "You may follow me."

Nathaniel jumped out of Ellie's lap as we stood to follow, taking my and Ellie's hands in each one of his. Carlisle and Esme followed Jane first and we walked quickly behind them. We were brought to a large room with three ornate thrones at the center; I recognized this from what Ellie had shared with me. Aro sat alone in the center chair, watching us enter with a bemused expression.

"Carlisle," he said as he stood, clapping his hands together lightly. "Welcome. I am pleased that you replied so quickly to my message."

"Aro," Carlisle answered, bowing his head slightly. "It seemed pertinent to make our appearance as quickly as possible."

"Indeed," Aro replied. "I am thrilled that you brought your lovely wife to visit us as well."

"Hello Aro," Esme greeted the ancient leader.

"And this young man must be the child that Felix and Demetri had the pleasure of meeting," he said, directing his attention to Nathaniel.

"Good evening, Aro," Nathaniel greeted him.

"My, what poise your child possesses, you must be very proud, Christopher, and you as well, young Eleanor."

Before either of us could respond to him, however, he nodded to the guards that had followed us in. Ellie realized what was happening a second before I did and shoved Nathaniel toward her father.

"Daddy, take him," she cried as the guards descended on us, two guards each securing our arms behind our backs, dragging us to kneel before Aro.

"Aro!" Carlisle cried from behind us. "What is the meaning of this?! What have they done?!"

"Mommy! Daddy!" Nathaniel wailed behind us.

_Ellie, _I thought frantically as I struggled against my captors. _What's going on?_

Horror washed over her face as her eyes flew to a side doorway. "Jonathan," she spat. "You lying sack of shit." She grunted as the guards twisted her arms roughly. "Aro, he lies. He's manipulated your mind, we haven't done what he's led you to believe," she pleaded.

"Silence," Aro commanded. "You think he can fool _me_ child?" Caius and Marcus appeared out of nowhere. Marcus took a seat behind where Aro now stood before us and Caius leaned over us, sneering gleefully.

"I can see it now, in his mind," she argued. "Please, I can show you if you let me."

"So that _you_ can counter with your own influence, witch?" spat Caius in response to her plea.

"Caius, I can show you as well. See the truth for yourself," Ellie urged as a look of fierce concentration crossed her face.

"Ellie NO," I said roughly as I realized what she was trying to do. A hand closed over my throat, blocking my airway as I struggled.

_Christopher,_ Ellie called to me in her thoughts._ I'm sorry. He's convinced Aro that we are training Nathaniel so that he and I can control Aro's mind and topple the Volturi. I have to show them that he's lying. _Carlisle's gasp told me that Ellie had shared her thoughts with him as well.

"Aro, please. You can touch any one of us and see that none of this is true. No one in our family wishes to threaten your rule, we only wish to live in peace," Carlisle pleaded. "Please, I beg you to let us show you."

"Peace you say, yet you have amassed a large and powerful coven, Carlisle," said Caius. "There are rumblings throughout our world that your _family_," he said the word mockingly, "could actually pose a threat."

"That has never, ever been my intention. And I swear to you that my son and daughter are innocent of the crimes for which they are being unjustly accused," Carlisle replied, stepping closer as Esme clung to Nathaniel. Guards flocked to Carlisle's side as he approached the leaders, but Aro waved them off.

"It would pain me to offend you with the destruction of your...children," Aro said, a calculating expression on his face.

"Aro, you must know that Jonathan has carried on his father's legacy of harassment against my daughter. I do not presume to understand if his motivation is purely revenge or jealousy or some other sadistic pursuit, but I swear that his claims are without merit." Carlisle stood beside his captive daughter now, his hand outstretched. Aro grasped it in his own, and Ellie's eyes closed as the mental assault began.

"Ah, Carlisle, so fascinating," he said. "Particularly when Ellie manipulated the mind of her own former lover to keep her and her son's powers hidden from me."

"It was only to protect Nathaniel," Ellie said in a low, strained voice. "Please Aro, you saw what I shared with my father. Let me show you how Jonathan has lied to you."

Ellie defiantly held the angered leader's gaze for a long moment before Aro's hands reached out to grasp her face, causing me to panic for a moment, until I realized that he was looking through her mind and not trying to hurt her. He released her and stood before me, repeating the action.

As Aro released me and stepped back, I saw the faintest hint of a smile cross Ellie's face.

"You see?" she whispered.

Aro lurched toward Jonathan, grabbing him by his throat. "Yes, Eleanor. What you have shown me is most enlightening." He glowered toward Jonathan. "That was a very foolish move, young one. Your hubris will be your end." Aro threw him toward Felix and turned back toward my wife.

"Aro," she called to him before he could speak further. "I can undo what he's done to her."

I struggled against my captor to turn and gape at Ellie in shock. There was more that Jonathan had done, clearly.

_Ellie what is going on? _She didn't answer; she was focused reading Aro's thoughts.

"I can take it away," she added gently, "make her forget it altogether."

"Brother," said Caius impatiently. "What is she speaking of?"

"Our young visitor sought to make a fool of me, using his _gift _with Sulpicia," Aro replied, glaring menacingly toward Ellie's half brother. His gaze shifted back to my wife. "How do you know you can do as you promise?"

"You saw what happened, in my memory, with the human? Valerie? I believe it will work much like that. I can break down his connection, clear it from her memory. I swear on my own life I won't hurt her. I only ask that you let my family go."

_Ellie! No! _I cried out in my thoughts, unable to suck in air to speak with my throat still closed off. Aro nodded in agreement.

Suddenly the arms holding me disappeared and I jumped to my feet at once. Ellie was freed as well and she flew into my arms. "It's okay, Chris," she cooed. "I will make this right and we will be okay. I love you."

She ghosted to Esme and Nathaniel and kissed them both, before turning to her father. Before he embraced her, he turned to Aro.

"Eleanor will be allowed to leave with us, after she has fulfilled her promise?"

"If she is successful," Aro said.

Carlisle grabbed Ellie to him. "Are you sure you can do this?"

She pulled back and put her hand on his face. "I am. Go."

With that we were ushered back to the lobby area, Nathaniel clung to me as we walked. I stroked his hair, forcing myself to remain calm and to trust in Ellie's assurance that she could do this and leave unharmed. "It's going to be all right," I whispered to Nathaniel as we sat and waited. The hours ticked by and Carlisle paced anxiously, stopping every few minutes to squeeze Esme's shoulders. Esme moved to sit beside me, rubbing her grandson's back as he struggled to stay awake.

"Go to sleep, dear," she urged.

"Not until Mama comes back," he said seriously. "She is coming back, right Daddy?"

"She will, son. She promised, and she wouldn't lie to you," I vowed, hoping to god that I was right. He was determined; his eyes would occasionally droop and his head would nod, but he did not succumb. He hopped from my lap to pace with his grandfather, who was drawing anxious stares from the receptionist.

I leaned forward with my elbows on my knees, and dropped my head in my hands. Esme draped her arm around my shoulders.

"She wouldn't lie to you, either Christopher," she whispered softly. Never before had I had reason to doubt this, I thought.

"You had no reason to doubt it now." _Ellie!_ My mind reeled at the sound her her voice, and before I was even fully aware of my action I flew toward her, crashing my lips against hers. She pulled back slightly after returning my kiss, placing a hand on my cheek. "But under the circumstances," she said with a mischievous grin, "I forgive you."

"Ellie," I gasped, pulling her back against me. "I love you, thank god you're okay."

"Oh Ellie, thank god," echoed Esme, hugging us both and kissing her daughter.

Nathaniel clambered to her side and she scooped him up, inhaling his scent and kissing his face. "Is it over Mama? Can we go home?"

"Yes, baby. You are safe and we can go," she said.

Demetri appeared, or maybe he had been there all along. "The sun will rise soon. Take your leave at once, please."

Ellie turned to him and smiled. "Thank you." Ellie and Carlisle exchanged a long glance before we turned and walked swiftly to the elevator. As we passed through the city gates, Carlisle's stoic expression broke.

He threw the keys to the car to me and grabbed his daughter into a bone-crushing hug. "Eleanor Elizabeth Cullen Dawling," he said, his voice muffled slightly by her hair as he spoke directly in her ear. "Do not _ever _do that to me again. You will explain, do you understand?"

She nodded, looking abashed. "Yes, Daddy."

I got in the driver's side and started the car, surprised to see Carlisle climb in the back. Ellie sat in the middle, Nathaniel leaning against her right side, as she was cradled against Carlisle's side. Esme climbed in beside me and smiled at her husband.

"Don't be too rough on her, Carlisle," she said softly.

"Ellie," I said, meeting her eyes in the mirror. "The explanation you promised?"

"In a minute," she whispered. "Let him fall asleep."

Less than five minutes later, she sighed. "All right, Daddy," she said in response what I assumed was his mental prompting. "I'm sorry I scared you all, but I couldn't risk explaining further in the moment. Let me back track some. Before we left, Alice was rehashing her visions repeatedly. They were so varied there was no telling how this would end. There was one in particular that didn't make sense. It was a woman in the castle, but I didn't know who she was.

"Edward saw it too. He told me that he thought it was Aro's wife, Sulpicia. Neither of us understood at first, until he saw me think back over what Frederick said about how Jonathan uses a sexual connection to gain control over his subjects. From what I gathered now having seen his mind directly, I believe that's only partially true. I think he uses his abilities to seduce, almost like an incubus. From there, once the connection has been made, his subjects are willing to do what he pleases.

"Jonathan was cocky in his thoughts when he joined us in the throne room. I showed you that, Daddy," she paused to look at her father. "He boasted how he convinced Aro that we wished to move against him. My outburst was mostly an act, I wanted him to slip up and reveal more of what he had done. I knew immediately there had to be more, because he thought of her. Sulpicia. I prodded him silently, while you were pleading with Aro, Daddy, and he couldn't reign in his thoughts quickly enough. I knew I had him then.

"Before he touched your hand," she again looked to Carlisle, "I threw the images to Aro's mind that I had seen of Jonathan and Sulpicia."

Carlisle stared at her in shock. "And you couldn't have let us know what was going on?" he admonished quietly, not wanting to wake Nathaniel.

She grinned. "I am sorry about that. I had to focus on so much, especially when he finally agreed to read our thoughts. I couldn't afford to lose focus." Her gaze found mine in the mirror. "Please don't be angry with me, Chris. I couldn't stand to see you held like that, and I did everything I could to end it as quickly as possible."

I couldn't speak; I was so overwhelmed by the information she was giving us. _I love you Ellie. _

"I love you, too," she mouthed back to me. Carlisle pulled her head against him and kissed the top of her head.

"Were you able to help her?" Esme asked quietly.

"Yes, but she was resistant for a long time. It was fascinating and really a little disturbing to observe them."

"How did he even get to her? She and Athendora are so heavily guarded," Carlisle mused.

"I assume Jonathan used his abilities to get past the guards. Aro was truly horrified that he so easily broke through her protection."

"Would he have let you go if she didn't agree to your idea?" I asked, my voice shaking slightly.

Ellie shrugged, looking at me in the mirror. "I honestly don't know. I was banking on the fact that Aro is as controlling with her as he is everything else, I didn't think she would refuse ultimately. And she didn't."

"What did you do, exactly?" I asked. She thought for a moment, biting her lip as she held my gaze in the mirror.

"It's hard to explain. When she thought of him, there was this strange pull; I somehow undid that. And then at Aro's request, I removed recollection of him altogether." She grimaced. "I had hoped that she would affirm that request, but she didn't say anything. I feel kind of conflicted about that honestly, but I could tell that the memory troubled her..."

"You did what you needed to do," Carlisle said gently. "And your intent to help was sincere. We can only hope that Aro remembers that should you find yourself in his presence in the future." He kissed her hair again. "Which you won't," he vowed furiously.

"Agreed," I all but snarled. We were nearing the Florence airport now, and I was increasingly desperate to get as far away from Italy as possible. When we emerged from the car I took hold of my wife's hand, pulling her to me and holding her firmly for several moments.

"Come on," she whispered after a few minutes. "Let's get back to the family okay?"


	13. Marked

Chapter 12. Marked.

On the plane back to London, Nathaniel was miraculously still asleep. Ellie carefully unbuckled him and shifted him to her seat, sliding in to sit beside me.

She turned herself to face me, her hands gently touching my face. "Are you okay?" she whispered. "Did they hurt you?"

I chuckled and kissed her forehead. "I'm fine," I answered truthfully. Nothing could possibly hurt me except for what almost happened today – I was still reeling from the fact that we all walked away unscathed. I couldn't control my need to touch her anymore and grabbed her head and pulled her forcefully to me, kissing her in ways I usually reserved for when we were alone. Given everything we'd been through in the last several hours, however, I didn't care if all of first class saw in that moment.

As my lips moved roughly against her jaw and neck, I said in a tone that wouldn't be audible to the humans around us, "You promised you would never leave me." I nipped her neck knowing no one would see through the curtain of her hair. She gasped and dug her nails into my arms. "You are in so much trouble for nearly breaking that promise." I punctuated each word with my teeth on her skin.

She breathed in quiet pants, and I could see the lust in her eyes; she was as anxious to be alone as I was. "I look forward to my punishment," she said with a throaty whisper before her lips returned to mine. Her hand drifted down my chest and stomach, and she surprised me when she flicked one of the blankets provided to first class travelers strategically over my lap so she could discreetly unzip my pants. Much to my dismay, however, the sound of her father clearing his throat from behind us made her straighten her posture before she could do more than graze my shaft with her fingers.

"Sorry, Dad," she whispered with a giggle. I grumbled as I quickly zipped my fly under the blanket and pulled Ellie back against me, tucking her securely under my arm. "The flight attendant is about to walk by anyway," she added in a low tone. "Sorry baby."

We sat in silence for the rest of the flight. I watched as Ellie played with my hands, alternating between rubbing my palms and tracing the shape of my fingers with her own. I gently pulled one of my hands out of her grip, running my fingers through her hair and easing her head back against me. When the flight crew called for the cabin to prepare for our landing at Heathrow, she didn't budge, shifting over to sit properly in her seat only after earning a stern glance from one of the flight attendants during her final walk through.

I chuckled as Ellie grumbled in response to the woman's thoughts. "For the record, it's not that she was concerned that I wasn't properly seated for my safety," she whispered in response to my amusement. "She wanted to curl up with you herself."

"Really?" I answered, jokingly glancing around in mock-interest. "Ouch," I whispered following a hard jab from Ellie's elbow. After we finally got off the plane in London, I carried Nathaniel through the airport, who roused only long enough to pass through customs, dozing off again with his head on my shoulder as we trekked back to the car.

"I can't believe he's still out," Ellie marveled as we climbed into the car. I sat in the middle beside her in the car this time, and buckled Nathaniel in to my left. Fortunately the skies were heavily overcast, it was well into the afternoon by the time we arrived back at the hotel. The family waited there for us because Alice hadn't been certain that the clouds would remain long enough for everyone to get to and then leave the airport. As we walked back into the suite, everyone bolted toward us at once.

Emmett got to Ellie first, grabbing her into a massive hug. "Alice told us what happened. I can't believe you pulled that off, Ellie."

We were all passed around the room, everyone talking at once. Edward and Ellie both looked slightly pained from the onslaught of thoughts.

"Guys?" I said, trying to call out over the cacophonous noise, noticing that Carlisle and Esme had already disappeared into one of the bedrooms. I figured then I could entice Ellie to slip away for a few minutes as well. "Can someone keep an eye on Nathaniel for a bit?"

Several heads bobbed in agreement and I grabbed Ellie's hand, leading her to the bedroom that our son had slept in when we first arrived, pulling her into the adjoining bathroom. "How's your head?" I asked with a smirk, recalling her comment from the previous day.

"I was right about the headache. Just not about the cause," she quipped.

I laughed softly, pulling her close to me. "Really though," I whispered, looking more closely at her eyes. "How is everything up here?" I gently cupped her head in my hands, my thumbs stroking her temples. I thought back to our first Volturi encounter, and how much she struggled with the mental overload that resulted. Aro had touched both Carlisle and me, and I knew she had absorbed every one of our thoughts; centuries of memories passed from each of our minds to her own all in the span of seconds.

She was listening intently to my thoughts now, I knew, and I watched her closely as she processed my concerns. Smiling softly, she placed her hands over my own and kissed me, pulling back with a sigh and a wry smile. "Well, if I didn't know you before," she said with an evil smirk, "I certainly do now."

"Funny," I replied, kissing her back and biting her lip playfully. "About that though. I know most of what you saw from Carlisle you would have seen before, but if there's anything…about me…that bothered you, or that you want to talk about, you'll tell me right?"

I was fairly confident that I had told her enough about my past exploits that there weren't any major surprises, but as she had put it during our struggles at Dartmouth, I hadn't exactly been a monk before meeting her. I had never indulged in any particularly sadistic activities when I hunted humans, and I was not ashamed of who I was before "going veggie," as she liked to call it. I was more concerned at how she would feel having seen my memories of relations with other females that I had occasionally encountered over the years. While I had told her about these experiences, and while I certainly held no emotional attachment to any of them, I worried that such detailed knowledge might be difficult for her. I hoped she also saw that I hadn't even looked at another woman since finding my mate in her.

"I know that Christopher," she answered my troubled thoughts, taking my face in her hands. "And it would be tremendously hypocritical of me to give you any grief. Please understand that nothing I saw could possibly make me change my mind about you." She kissed me lightly and then added, "And while yes I could do without _some_ of the specific details, I didn't see anything – or any_one_ – that you hadn't already told me about before. We're good, I promise."

Deep down I knew as much, but I breathed a relieved sigh at her words. I covered her mouth again with mine, my lips moving slowly against hers, our kiss building slowly more intense over several minutes. I pulled away and pressed my forehead to hers. "But you're okay?" I pressed, needing to be sure that there wasn't some mental trauma that she was hiding from me.

"I'm okay," she assured me. "Honestly. It was easier this time. I knew what to expect, and my mind could handle it better now, being fully vamped and all." She winked at me and I exhaled, dropping my forehead and resting it against hers.

"I was so scared, Ellie," I whispered.

"I know, baby," she answered, stroking my face with her hands. "I'm sorry that I didn't explain better at the time. I knew you would be frantic, but I also knew the sooner I could get you guys to relative safety the better. You and our son are everything and I was determined to keep you safe."

An involuntary hiss slipped between my teeth in reaction to her willingness to put herself in harms way.

"Shush," she said, smacking my cheek lightly and looking up at me with mischief in her eyes. "I believe you mentioned something about me being in trouble? I will happily accept my punishment now."

I growled at her, louder than I intended to with our family in such close proximity but I honestly didn't care. I gathered a fistful of her hair in my hand at the back of her head, pulling her face to mine roughly. Holding her with one arm, I reached behind me to turn on the shower. She grabbed onto my jacket, curling her fingers gently into the soft leather.

"By the way," she purred. "I _really_ like the hit man look."

"Oh yeah?" I whispered before I sucked her bottom lip between my teeth. "I like those heels." I had lots of ideas for how we could put them to use in the future. She giggled as she kissed my neck. "What?" I asked innocently. "The extra height could be useful."

I removed our clothing quickly and pulled her into the water, ready to devour her whole. I dropped to my knees and lifted her so her legs were perched on my shoulders, giving me the access I so desperately wanted. I drew my tongue along her inner thighs, teasing her with light nips as I got closer to her sex. Her scent was overpowering in the hot steam, and I couldn't hold out my teasing for long before I began frantically licking her soft skin, and sucking her clit between my teeth. She groaned above me as I dipped my fingers inside of her, curling them to hit the spot that would send her so furiously over the edge with just the right touch. Her legs crossed tightly around my neck and her hips bucked into my face as I lapped hungrily, swirling my tongue over her clit. When I knew she was close, I bit down hard against the throbbing nub and she smashed her head back against the shower wall, coming instantly.

Before she could catch her breath, I stood and wrapped her legs around my waist, pressing my throbbing cock against her entrance. "Ellie," I gasped. "I need to be inside you." She nodded, still mute from her climax. She attacked my mouth with her own, groaning as I pressed into her, thrusting frantically.

"God," she panted. "I can taste me on you."

I growled in her ear, my lips moving down her neck, finding the space on her skin that I had marked with my venom. Before I knew what I was doing, my teeth were buried in her neck, recreating the injury, searing my venom into her skin again. She cried out, and when I picked my head up to meet her gaze, her eyes were wild.

She crushed her lips to mine, bucking frenetically against me. She dragged her tongue down my neck, and suddenly I could feel the heat from her breath on my shoulder, and I knew that her mouth was hovering there. I groaned when I realized what she wanted. She wanted to bite me, to _really_ bite me_._

_Oh god, Ellie, _I thought. _Do it. Mark me. Everything I am is yours. Claim me._

I hissed as her teeth sank into my skin. The venom burned, but the understanding of what she had just done overrode any pain and I came inside her instantly. Her walls gripped me tightly as she followed suit, moaning my name softly.

She clung to me even as our movements slowed and I kissed her softly for several long moments before setting her back on her feet. We washed quickly, without speaking. When we finished, I shut the water off and wrapped her in a towel before wrapping one around myself as well. When we stepped out of the shower, I caught my reflection in the mirror and the new mark on my shoulder caught my eye. I stood there staring at it, grinning like an idiot.

"Need a moment alone there?" she asked, looking back and forth between the reflection in the mirror and me. "Sorry if that, um, hurt," she added, smiling shyly.

"Don't be," I replied, and her eyes darkened at the sound my voice. I was about to scoop her up and take her to the bed when she bolted away from me, reappearing with clothes already on. She threw boxers and pants at me.

"Nathaniel, we need to go to him," she answered, terror etched across her face. Before I could ask what was wrong, I could hear his petrified cry from the other room.

I pulled on the clothes and shot out the bedroom door behind Ellie in less than half of a second. "What's wrong with him?" I cried, looking around the room as we darted to the couch where he had been sleeping.

Edward and Bella had gotten to him first; he was sitting up between them, crying against Bella.

"He was having a nightmare," Edward explained, standing so Ellie could take his place. "I was just about to wake him, before he started crying out."

"Nathaniel, baby," Ellie whispered in his ear, taking him from Bella and rocking him gently. "It's okay, honey. You are safe, and we are all here with you." I knelt down in front of them and took his small hands in my own.

His sobs settled slightly and he opened his eyes, startling slightly as if he was surprised to see us. "Mommy? Daddy" he said quietly. "You're here?"

She pressed her lips to his head, holding him tightly to her chest. "We're here baby," she whispered, still rocking him. "We will always be here."

Bella slipped off the couch and I sat down beside Ellie and Nathaniel, wrapping my arms around both of them. "Do you want to talk about your dream?" I asked him quietly.

He shook his head, but I could imagine what he would have seen, if his dreams before we went to Volterra were any indication. I glanced up at Edward and he nodded once.

"I'm so sorry I didn't see it quickly enough, honey," Ellie whispered. "I promise you that we are all here and we're not going anywhere, okay?"

Nathaniel looked around the room. "Where's Grandma and Grandpa?" he whispered, his eyes flashing with renewed worry.

"We're here, dear," Esme said from across the room, the two of them walking quickly to stand beside the sofa. I hadn't heard them come back into the sitting room. Nathaniel looked up and smiled at his grandparents, scrubbing the back of his hand across his wet eyes.

"Are you hungry, honey?" Ellie asked him, and he sniffed and nodded against her. "Okay. How about this? Daddy will call down and order something for you to eat and while we wait let's get you in the bath real quick. Sound good?"

"Okay, Mommy," he said, reaching out to give me a hug before Ellie whisked him off toward the bathroom.

I got up and pulled out the room-service menu from the restaurant downstairs and stared at the baffling choices. Jacob peered over my shoulder.

"Help please?" I asked him. I knew what Nathaniel would eat at home, though he preferred not to mess with human food at all, but I had no idea what on this elaborate menu might be hybrid-friendly.

"Let me see it," Renesmee offered, taking the book from me. She wrote down a couple of things quickly for me to order for Nathaniel and Jake. "Here," she said, handing the note to me. "This should work."

Jacob nodded his approval of her choices after glancing back at the menu. "You want anything, honey?" he asked Renesmee.

She wrinkled her nose. "I _might_ pick off of yours." He laughed and kissed her head as I picked up the phone to order the food.

* * *

We spent most of the next two days seeing the sights of London. Carlisle delighted both Nathaniel and Renesmee, who had never before been to England with her grandfather, with things he remembered from his human past. Even Ellie listened intently, having only come here with her parents twice as a child.

On the second of those two days, Carlisle drove a small group of us – Ellie, Nathaniel, Jake, Renesmee and me – expertly through the city to a seemingly random neighborhood filled with fairly modern structures. The rest of the family followed behind in the other rented vehicles. I watched Ellie, who sat beside her father in the front. I could tell from her expression that she was watching Carlisle now as she often watched me as we walked or drove through Boston, when I would recall memories of my hometown from centuries past.

Carlisle hadn't told us where we were headed, but I realized we must have been nearing the area where he grew up, though this particular section of London left little trace of its ancient history. Clearly it had fallen victim to the modernization brought on by the Great Fire and later eras that valued progress over history. He parked swiftly along a curb near several large office buildings, stepping out of the car and walking around to open the doors for his daughter and granddaughter. Nathaniel and I climbed out and Carlisle beckoned to Nathaniel to walk with him. I stood beside my wife and took her hand, her eyes still unfocused as she took in her surroundings through Carlisle's thoughts and memories.

"Daddy," she breathed. "This is incredible."

"Ellie, let me see," Nessie begged, tugging on her aunt's arm. Ellie looked at Renesmee and her expression changed as she concentrated on showing Renesmee what she could see.

"Oh wow, Grandpa," Nessie said. "Jake, look." She grabbed Jake's hand to show her. Nathaniel sighed impatiently from beside Carlisle.

Ellie looked at him and smiled. "Sorry baby, hang on a second," she said as her expression focused intensely again.

"I got it, Ellie," Nessie said with a grin, reaching out with her other hand to grab one of Nathaniel's. His eyes widened as he took in the images she shared with him.

"My turn," Bella said to her daughter, and Jake released Nessie's hand. The amazement in Bella's expression rivaled Nathaniel's.

"Holy crap," she murmured.

Carlisle lead the group to a small section of grass and trees that seemed oddly out of place surrounded by the towering buildings and busy streets. He pulled Nathaniel up on his shoulders and draped an arm around Ellie and Renesmee both, nodding toward the middle of the small square.

"Our church stood right about here," he said softly. My vision was overtaken by Ellie's thoughts as she finally shared with me the memories she could see in Carlisle's mind. Fuzzy imagines of a small wooden church filled my head – I could see the old cross that hung in Carlisle and Esme's house hanging behind the pulpit. "I didn't return here for many years after my change," he continued. "It was well after the fire that destroyed much of the city. But between my own memories and some supplemental research I was able to find this place again. At the time, I could still see my father's gravestone – he passed a few years after the Great Fire. He was buried just over there." He nodded to his right. "I believe the stone is still there, buried under years of landscaping now."

A few hours later, we were headed back toward the hotel. We had decided earlier that we would all fly home later in the week, deciding to make the most of our time here. As we drove back toward the hotel, Nathaniel begged Ellie and me to let him spend the evening with Carlisle and Esme, who quickly agreed to babysit their grandson for the evening. I could not have planned that better if I had tried, and I decided immediately to take advantage of the opportunity, making a point to stop by the front desk on our way in to discuss with the concierge what other rooms might be available for the evening. I knew Ellie had figured out what I was up to when I shooed her away from the desk and sent her upstairs with the rest of the family, but I knew she wouldn't argue with me either.

I was able to book a suite on the other end of the building from the rest of the family, and as I replaced my credit card in my wallet and grabbed the room keys, I turned on my heel, nearly running into Edward.

"Stealing my idea?" I asked with a laugh.

"Absolutely," he answered.

I walked briskly toward the elevator, impatient to get Ellie alone. When I got back to the suite where the rest of the family had gathered, she was waiting for me, sitting on one of the sofas in the sitting area with a cheeky grin on her face.

"Where's Nathaniel?" I asked.

"He will be out in a second to say goodnight to you. We can go then," she answered, winking at me.

She was drumming her fingers lightly on a small bag that sat beside her. "What's in-" I started to ask.

"Alice insisted," she said with a shrug.

I laughed, assuming that Alice didn't expect the clothes we were wearing to be any condition to be worn in the morning.

"Probably," Ellie said, giggling. Nathaniel burst into the room then, flying into his mother's lap.

"Grandma said I should say goodnight to you now, and that I'm all hers for the rest of the night."

"Well okay then," Ellie said, laughing loudly and pulling her son against her tightly. "I love you kiddo."

He ran over to me and I hugged him and kissed his head. "Love you. Be good," I said quietly in his ear. He grinned up at me and then ran back to the bedroom claimed by his grandparents.

"I guess we're dismissed then," Ellie said, her voice low and husky. A shudder ran through me and I grabbed her hand and practically dragged her out of the suite. I heard laughter from some of her siblings – I hadn't noticed anyone else in the room before that.

I led her back to the elevator, pulling her to me as soon as the doors slid shut. My mouth covered hers urgently, and she was gasping as I pulled back just before we arrived at our floor. We walked quietly to the room, and I swiped the key and held the door open for her. After I closed it behind me, I scooped her up and laid us both down on the huge bed.

She laughed at my urgency. The sound was musical, relaxed. Her eyes shone with excitement. I hadn't meant to rush into this, but she overwhelmed me. My lips found hers again, my tongue begging entrance to her mouth, which she eagerly granted. I could feel her groan vibrating in the back of my throat and I moved my body over hers.

"I love you," I gasped between kisses. As I pressed my body into hers, I could smell her arousal through her clothes as she grabbed my hair and squirmed beneath me. I struggled against the urge to rip her clothes off with just a flick of my fingers; I had wanted to use this time alone to slowly worship her, but my own need to feel her naked body against me won out. In a flash of torn fabric, I removed our clothes and rolled so that she lay over me, my mouth never leaving hers in the process.

Her whimper vibrated in my throat as she slid against my length, teasing me with her wet skin. My hands gripped her hips, trying to guide her over me but she resisted, pulling me up to sit instead. She put her hands on my face and kissed me softly and I couldn't contain my impatient groan. She hummed against my lips, and I could feel her lips curve upward into a smile. She ducked her head as she finally slid down slightly over me, taking in my head and holding herself up, still teasing.

"Ellie," I moaned. "Please." She slowly moved lower, and as she gradually took me in I felt her tracing the curve of my neck with her nose, breathing in as she moved along my jaw and down my neck, stopping over her mark on my skin. I growled as she continued to toy with me, distracted by her inspection. "What are you doing?" I griped, trying again to move her hips and succeeding this time.

She moaned softly and began to move over me, her nose still lightly touching my scar. "Oh god, Chris," she whispered roughly. "Your smell is different here. You smell like _us_." She moved against me in earnest then. "Fuck," she gasped as the backs of her thighs slapped against me.

She leaned back then, reaching behind her and grabbing my ankles. I cried out in surprise at the way this changed the feeling of her body around me and thrust deeper into her, still gripping her hips tightly. My eyes raked over her body splayed in front of me. Keeping hold of one of her hips, I slid my other hand along her stomach to one of her breasts, kneading it roughly with my fingers, making her groan and throw her head back. I moved my hand between her breasts, sliding back down her perfect abdomen slowly moving down to where our bodies joined. I rolled her clit with my thumb, and I could feel her arms falter ever so slightly in supporting her position as she moaned loudly. The noises she was making would be enough to send me over the edge, but I was struggling to hold out for her. I increased the pressure of my thumb against her sensitive nub and moved faster against her. She yelled out as her orgasm took hold and I exploded inside of her seconds later, holding her still against me until my cock stopped pulsing.

She was still gasping for breath when I pulled out of her and flipped us over, laying her head on the pillows and covering her body with mine, kissing her softly. She hummed happily against my lips, her fingers tangled in my hair. We lay together kissing and touching one another for hours, whispering softly to each other. Her lips traveled down my neck, back to the scar that would forever remain on my skin and I shivered as I remembered her teeth inside me.

"Do you like that I did that?" she asked vaguely, her fingers tracing the crescent shapes now.

"You have no idea," I answered softly. I pressed my lips against the matching scar on her neck.

"Do you like that I have one? A mark? _Your_ mark?" As she spoke one of her hands slid down my back to my ass, causing my cock to twitch against her.

"What do you think?" I whispered in her ear, dragging my tongue along her scar.

"I think you do _now_," she said meaningfully. My eyes flashed to hers and I smiled.

"Touché," I replied. "It's not that I didn't _like_ it at first, but I felt bad about having done that," I clarified, stroking her cheek with my fingers.

She grinned at me, kissing me once. "Why did you feel bad?" She laughed before I could answer, shaking her head slightly. "How have we not talked about this before now?" she asked incredulously.

"Hmm," I murmured. "We haven't really, have we?" I ran a hand through my hair. "I felt bad because I knew it hurt you, even if only marginally. You had already been through so much, with the labor and birth and then with the transition…"

"Well now I feel bad," she said, fingering my scar. I shook my head.

"No," I said fervently. "Don't. It was amazing, and you knew perfectly well before you asked how much I like seeing your mark on me. That was an entirely different circumstance." I nipped her earlobe. "And with regard to this," I said, placing a reverent kiss on her neck, "I've gotten over it. I own my possessiveness, and I love that I can look at this space," I whispered, pressing my lips again to the mark in question, "and see _my _mark on _you_." I growled this last sentence in her ear, and I could feel the moisture gathering between her legs at the sound. "I love it almost as much as I love seeing the rings on your finger."

I reached between us, slipping my fingers between her folds and groaned when I felt how wet she was. "Jesus," I gasped. "Are you enjoying this little chat?"

She moaned and wiggled a little to try and increase the pressure of my hand on her sensitive flesh, not an easy feat with almost all of my weight pressed against her.

"Need something, sweetheart?" I asked her, grinning wickedly.

"Ungh," she groaned. "Please, baby, I need you."

I shifted so that my cock was pressed against her entrance, pushing in swiftly. "Oh, yes," she gasped, her hips rising to meet mine as I moved inside of her.

"Anything you need, my love," I whispered. "Forever."


	14. Birthday

Chapter 13. Birthday

We returned from London and settled back into our normal routines quickly, each of us eager to leave in the past the stress that hung over the family before the latest encounter with the Volturi. Autumn set in, but was ushered out unusually quickly by what was expected to be a harsh New England winter. Nathaniel's first birthday had just passed two weeks prior; he had been thoroughly spoiled by the entire family.

He'd been ecstatic to find when he awoke on the day that nearly all of New England had been blanketed by snowfall and immediately dragged us all outside. Typical Cullen-family shenanigans ensued as Emmett began pelting anyone he could with tightly packed snowballs, recruiting Nathaniel to assist him in his assault. The resulting battle left us all soaking, and as we traipsed back into the house, Esme threatened our lives should any of us touch her furniture in such a state.

I laughed quietly to myself at the recollection as I stood by the window of our living room in Boston looking over the darkened city street, which was once again covered by snow. I walked over to the fireplace and carefully stoked the small fire that burned, providing the only light in the room, listening to my wife's footsteps as she stepped from the shower and walked lithely toward the closet. I sat down on the sofa and opened an old, well-worn copy of Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov as I waited for Ellie to come downstairs.

It was unusually quiet, with virtually no outside noise to be heard, given the late hour and the unfavorable weather. I could hear Ellie's quiet footsteps as she crept from our room, stopping to stand in Nathaniel's doorway and look over his sleeping form before turning to descend the stairs. As I read, I listened to every step, and smiled toward the page as she came to a stop wordlessly behind me, placing her hands on my shoulders. I reached up and covered one hand with my own, looking up toward her. She leaned down to kiss my forehead, and I felt her lips turn upward into a smile.

I shifted my position so that my side was aligned with the back of the couch, allowing me to face her. "Come here, please," I said, patting the space beside me. She smiled softly, running her fingers once through my hair, but ignored my request.

"What are you reading?" she asked. I held the book up so she could see. She made a face. "Jasper would approve," she said before I could comment. "He complained endlessly when we studied Dostoyevsky at Forks High because it was the English translation." She faked a delicate shudder. "The horrors."

I laughed as she finally started to walk around the couch, pausing in front of me. "My Russian is pretty weak," I admitted, "but I can understand most of it. I think." She laughed with me and sat down in my lap, leaning into me and kissing me softly.

"Happy birthday," she whispered against my lips.

"Mmm," I murmured. "You're early."

"Am not," she said with another laugh, nodding toward the clock on the mantle. I hadn't realized how long I had been standing at the window earlier, apparently, because she was right, it was nearly a minute after midnight now.

"In that case," I whispered, reaching my hand around to her neck to urge her face closer to mine, "thank you." She grinned and kissed me quickly before sitting up straight, holding up a small box that I hadn't noticed her retrieve. I raised one eyebrow at her, silently accepting the box. As much as I enjoyed celebrating her birthday, and now Nathaniel's as well, I was still unaccustomed to taking much notice of my own. Ellie knew this, and while she occasionally complained that my reluctance was on par with Bella's, she didn't usually push the issue.

She watched me as I contemplated this, raising an eyebrow of her own, daring me to object. "Just open it, Mr. Difficult," she said. "It won't bite."

"Yes ma'am," I said with a chuckle, slowly prying open the box. Inside was a silver men's watch.

"See? No big deal," she said with a smile. I nodded, removing it carefully from the box. I knew enough about watches to know that this particular piece was expensive even by my standards, but I didn't comment. She reached to guide my hand to turn it over, and I could see an inscription engraved on the back.

"Rien sans toi," I read quietly.

She bit her lip as I met her gaze. "Nothing without you," she said quietly. I nodded, having already made the translation in my head, and looked back to the words. I opened my mouth automatically to speak, but her fingers touched my lips. "Wait," she breathed. "Let me explain."

She kissed me softly and then took a breath. "Forgive me for the obvious time metaphor, with the watch. I actually hadn't thought about that until Alice made a joke the other day," she said with a wry grin.

"You're forgiven," I said with a laugh.

"The inscription, however…" she went on, looking down at my hands as she held them in her own. "I thought about that for a while. The other option I was considering was 'tu m'as donné la vie.' You gave me life. That one is true in a very literal sense – it was your venom that saved me, after all." She paused and flashed another grin. "But I didn't want to spend the rest of the night immersed in a semantics debate over that one."

"Anyway. Riens sans toi. I chose that because, in my mind, it is absolutely true. Every once in a while I stop and think about what would have happened if we'd never moved to Ithaca. It was really just one wrong flick of Bella's finger on that stupid wrapping paper that started it all in motion. Such a small thing," she whispered, still looking at my hands. She was quiet for a minute or two and then looked back up to me. "I suppose, since we have forever, we would have crossed paths eventually." She shook her head.

"I cannot think of how else to adequately describe to you what this life, our life, our family, means to me. And it is true because it wouldn't exist, without you in it, and I just can't fathom that." Her gaze held mine for several long moments, each of us lost in the other's eyes. I opened my mouth to speak, but truly I had no words. I could have said everything she did to describe my own feelings about our life. I understood the sentiment completely. She smiled as I thought this, and slipped the watch over my hand, fastening it to my wrist.

"Ellie," I said softly. "Thank you." I cupped her face in my hands and kissed her, moving my lips tenderly with hers.

"Thank you," I repeated, whispering against her lips. "I feel exactly the same way, about all of it. You know this now, of course, but the first few years we were together, when you would sleep, I couldn't stop imagining what it would have been like if you hadn't found me. And you did, you know. _You_ found _me_," I grinned at her as I said this. "I wasn't unhappy, before, not knowing what was waiting for me. I'm glad I didn't know you were out there, that _this_ was out there, in a way, because I would have gone mad trying to find you. I had never spent much time around mated couples. I had no idea…" It was my turn to shake my head.

"I'm glad you waited for me," she said, smiling. I pulled her face to mine and kissed her.

"Me too," I answered.

"So," I said, playing with her hair. "You mentioned earlier that you didn't want to spend the remainder of the night engaged in a semantics debate. Was there something else you had in mind?"

"Well," she said, drawing the word out as she drew her finger along the buttons on my shirt. "It's your birthday." She tapped my nose and kissed my neck. "What would you like to do?"

"Care to guess?" I asked, pulling her face back to mine.

* * *

"I think," I said softly, "that this might just be my favorite birthday so far." I pulled her closer and kissed her hair. She twisted her body to cuddle closer to me as we lay in front of the fire.

"You know," she whispered, "there's something funny about a couple of vampires just lying around this close to fire."

"Ellie," I said incredulously. "This tiny fire would hardly be deadly."

She laughed. "Oh, I know. But it's still funny to me."

I chuckled. "You are so odd."

"Hey, you married me," she quipped.

"In my defense, I had only known you for what, a month?" I tickled her ribs and she squirmed against me.

"Hmm," she hummed. "Too bad for you then. Stuck with me for eternity."

I growled softly and moved her so that her chest was on top of mine. "Too bad indeed. What on earth was I thinking?"

She threw a leg over me and shifted her hips so that they aligned with my own, positioning herself over my length. "I don't know," she said playfully. "What were you thinking?"

I laughed. "Probably much the same thing as I am thinking now," I answered, pressing my hips upward and sliding my hands down her lower back.

"Mm," she murmured. "Yes, you did think quite a bit about that, didn't you?" She moved up slightly along my body so she could reach to kiss my neck. I tangled my hand in her hair, sitting up slightly to kiss her and pull her body down, pushing up my hips to meet her. Her hands grabbed the back of my head, pulling on my hair as she started to move over me.

"I never stop thinking about this, love," I whispered roughly. It was true and she knew it. With our minds able to focus on so many things at one time, I was always able to keep the memory of her body surrounding me near the forefront of my thoughts.

She moaned, and the sound vibrated deep in my throat as our mouths moved hungrily together. "Tell me," she whispered. "Tell me how you think of me."

"Um," I mumbled, hardly able to form words. "You know already."

She shook her head, her lips back on mine. "I want to hear you, out loud."

My hands slid down to her hips, slowing her movements slightly so I could focus. She whimpered when I pulled my face back slightly.

"Well, I can't talk, love, if my mouth is otherwise occupied," I whispered with a hard chuckle. She rocked once over me forcefully, raising her eyebrow at me.

"Christ," I groaned, struggling to keep my eyes open as I took one of her breasts in my hand. She bit her lip, still moving slowly against me, and squeezed her eyes shut as I rolled her nipple between my fingers. She leaned her head back slightly, her hair cascading down her back.

"I think of you like that quite a bit. Oh god...you are so warm around me Ellie."

"Even now?" she gasped, moving a little faster.

"Fuck yes. I think of that all the time. How it feels when your muscles tense around me...fuck, yes baby just like that."

"Oh god, Chris," she moaned softly in my ear, her nails digging into my chest. "I'm going to come."

"Yes," I whispered. "Please." I held her hips tighter, pushing further into her. She kissed me roughly as her body shook with her climax, and I followed quickly as her quieted moans vibrated through me. When our breathing slowed, she laid her head down on my chest.

"I will think of that all day," I whispered, pulling my fingers gently through her hair. She placed a kiss on my chest and looked up at me.

"So you're enjoying your birthday so far?"

I chuckled and kissed her softly. "Very much."

"Good," she said. She grabbed my wrist and glanced at my watch. "We should probably get up. Nathaniel will be awake soon."

Not long after she said this we snuck up the stairs and dressed. I took Ellie's hand and led her over to our bed, sliding back to prop myself against the headboard and urging her to lie with me. She complied with a smile, resting her head against my shoulder and her arm across my chest. We didn't speak as we lay there waiting for Nathaniel to rouse.

A few minutes later, we could both hear him tiptoeing away from his bed, stopping only for a second to peek into our room before bounding excitedly onto the bed with us.

Not wanting him to accidentally hurt himself, I caught him before he crashed into us and Ellie scooted over so he could nestle into the space between us. He smiled brilliantly at me.

"Happy birthday Daddy!" he cried.

"Thank you," I replied, hugging him tightly to me for a moment.

"Did you like your watch?" he asked, squirming to check to see if I had it on.

"I did. Did you help your mom pick it out?"

He nodded proudly. I kissed his forehead. "Thank you," I said.

"I've got something else for you, too," he said, sitting back up and tugging on my arm. "Come here!"

I raised my eyebrows to Ellie, who climbed out of the bed with us, smiling. Nathaniel led me into his room and pointed to a small, wrapped, box sitting on the chair across from his bed. I picked up the box and sat down with Nathaniel in my lap.

"Want to help?" I asked him, and together we carefully unwrapped the package. Inside was a framed photo of the three of us. It took me a minute to place the scenery around us in the shot. I remembered when Esme took the photo, while we were in Denali. Nathaniel had been excitedly recanting the story of his first lion. Despite the drama of that trip, I could see the genuine smiles on my face and Ellie's as we looked in our son, basking in his delight.

"I love it, Nathaniel. Thank you," I said, hugging him again and kissing his head.

The rest of the day was relaxed and enjoyable. Ellie and I decided that Nathaniel might like to walk up to Boston Common, so we bundled up unnecessarily and set out. The plows hadn't come through yet, so the sounds of the city were still muffled by the light blanket of snow. Clouds hung low in the air, as if threatening to spill over again and giving us plenty of cover for our daytime expedition.

By the time we came back it was into the afternoon and we spent the remainder of the evening taking turns at the piano. Later that night, after Nathaniel had gone to bed, Ellie and I lay quietly in our own bed.

"Hey," I whispered to her. "Thank you for a lovely day."

She shifted to prop herself on her elbow, smiling. "You're welcome. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I was worried you would grumble about it," she replied. I rolled my eyes and kissed her, sighing as she pulled back.

"I'm not _that_ bad, you know," I said, ruffling her hair. She laughed and ducked to kiss my chest.

"I know, I'm only teasing," she replied, still smiling. "I have a feeling that Alice is wearing off on our kid, though."

My eyes widened in fake horror. "Oh no. What did he want to do?" I asked.

She giggled. "Let's just say he had a much different day envisioned. I convinced him that perhaps we ought to start a little slower, and work up to an Alice-scale party." Her grin widened. "He agreed to cool it until you hit 300. So, you've been warned."

I snorted. "Noted. I will make myself scarce that day, then." She laughed quietly and shook her head, drawing her fingertips along my face.

"I think," she said carefully as her fingers moved back down my neck, to my chest, "that a birthday party once a century won't kill you." She winked at me.

"I suppose," I said with an exaggerated huff. She grinned and leaned down to kiss me again. I took her face in my hands, pulling her back after a moment to look at her. "Seriously though. Thank you. I will work on being a good sport about the birthday thing. Today really was a very nice day."

I knew she was pleased, and she flashed a bright smile, looking at me without speaking for several moments. As she played with my hair, I watched her, and her expression grew slightly more serious. She looked at me speculatively, as if she were trying to figure out how to say something else.

"What, sweetheart? What's wrong?"

She laughed softly, shaking her head. "No, no. Nothing's wrong," she said hesitantly, biting her lip. I waited for her to speak.

She sighed and dropped her eyes to my chest, inhaling slowly. "I just want to ask you something."

"Anything," I answered after a moment when I realized that she was waiting for my permission to proceed. "You can ask me anything. You know that."

She smiled brilliantly at me. "I know," she said, and yet she hesitated again, her fingers trailing along my abdomen. I couldn't contain the shudder elicited by her touch. I took a deep breath to refocus my attention on whatever was troubling her.

"I've been talking to Carlisle," she said vaguely and paused again. She was driving me mad. My mind started running wild imagining what she could be discussing with her father that would cause her this much trepidation with me.

"Ellie, has something happened?" I asked.

She shook her head again. "Sorry," she said. "Remember I said nothing's wrong." She tapped my nose but looked down again quickly. "I don't know why I'm so nervous. You will laugh at me."

"Doubtful," I said very seriously.

"I was wondering what you would say if I wanted to go back to school? Now, while Nathaniel is still too young to go. Carlisle's been harping on me – since Cornell, actually – about how he thinks I would love to go to medical school." She laughed again. "I've thought about it a couple of times, but I don't think I would ever be able to practice medicine, especially not now, and if I am going do something, I would like to do it for real this time. But I think I've just decided what I want to do instead…"

She went on to explain that she had been talking to her father over the last several weeks, since returning from London, for more information on what he thought might have gone wrong at the end of her pregnancy. I knew this, as she had mentioned her intentions to me before seeking her father's counsel, but I hadn't participated in the conversations. It seemed something that Ellie needed space to work through on her own. To be honest, the subject was still incredibly raw for me and I was happy to give it space. I knew that she felt better having more information, but I realized now that I'd had no idea the extent to which those conversations had set other ideas in motion for her.

She told me how she wanted to start at Boston University after the New Year. She planned to major in biology (she would ask Jasper to forge transcripts allowing her to start midway through that program) so that she could continue on into the masters of epidemiology program. She wanted to pursue medical research.

I realized after several long moments that she was staring at me, waiting for me to speak. "Chris?" she prodded. "Does that sound okay?"

"Of course it does," I said breathlessly. I was thrilled that she found something she wanted to try, and I told her so, pulling her to me to hug her tightly. She breathed a relieved sigh, sitting up again and smiling wryly at me. "I love you," I said. "I love that you're so excited about this."

"Thanks," she breathed, fidgeting again.

Her expression was still cautious. I reached up to stroke her cheek with the back of my fingers. "Was there something else?"

She grinned. "Kinda. When I talked to Alice the other day, she saw something that I want you to know about. I would have told you sooner but I didn't want to stress you out before today..."

"Okay...so what was it?"

"Apparently Esme has been thinking a lot about inviting the Denali's out for Christmas."

I shrugged. "Okay."

"Alice thinks they will come. All of them."

* * *

**A/N: Thank you for reading and reviewing! **


	15. Home for the Holidays

Chapter 14. Home for the Holidays

Despite Alice's forewarning of our holiday visitors, I was surprised to learn that Tanya had immediately accepted Esme's invitation, without hesitation, a few weeks later.

"I know," Ellie had said when she heard my surprise. "I would have expected a bit more reluctance, but I could hear Tanya on the other side of the call and she said 'yes' right away."

Three nights before Christmas, Ellie, Nathaniel and I headed north to New Hampshire. We planned to spend our nights in our house there throughout the duration of our stay so that there was room at the main house for the Denali clan, who were set to arrive in the morning. In addition to the Denali's, we were also expecting Frederick us to join us for the festivities.

I glanced back in the rearview mirror toward Nathaniel. He'd recently outgrown the child seat we purchased shortly after his birth, and he was thrilled to think he would longer have to ride under such restraints. However, Ellie had other ideas, and had just bought him what she told me humans called a "booster seat," designed for older children about his size. She convinced me that should we be pulled over, it would be problematic if Nathaniel wasn't restrained appropriately. Nathaniel threw a fit the likes of which I'd never seen – it was quite befitting of a human child of his actual, chronological, age. As I looked at him now, I could see that he was still scowling out the window. I could not help but chuckle quietly at his expression.

"Nathaniel," I called back to him quietly. His eyes flashed to mine in the mirror. His expression was wary – I'd had to speak to him more sternly than either of us was used to in the midst of his histrionics earlier. "I spoke with Garrett on the phone the other night. He thought the three of us could go out hunting together after they arrive tomorrow. What do you think?"

Nathaniel's expression shifted swiftly into a wide grin. As I expected, he readily agreed. He found Garrett to be hilarious during our last visit, and Garrett was a natural with children, as we'd seen when Renesmee was young.

"I see how it is," Ellie said with an exaggerated sigh. "That's fine. Both of my boys are abandoning me. Don't worry, I will be fine." Her fake pout turned into a grin as another thought evidently occurred to her. She shifted in her seat to face me. "Did you clear your little expedition with Esme? You know she plans to put everyone to work tomorrow."

I laughed. "It will only be for a few hours. There will be no shortage of people around to help."

"Okay," she said, drawing the word out skeptically.

"Don't worry Mama," Nathaniel piped up. "I can handle Grandma."

Ellie and I both laughed, looking back toward our smiling son. It was true; if anyone could charm my mother-in-law, it was her grandson. Carlisle would often stand back and watch, amazed at how easily Nathaniel skirted getting in trouble with Esme for his mischief. He liked to tease that Nathaniel was going to be quite a handful when he was old enough to attend school.

"He will be a notorious flirt, that is certain," Carlisle had said, laughing.

To which Ellie responded, "I can't _imagine_ where he gets that from," shooting a sideways glance at me.

"Yes well," Ellie interrupted my thoughts, watching me from the passenger seat, "even the _notorious_ Dawling flirting abilities may not be enough to get you guys out of the Cullen Christmas preparations."

"We accept your challenge," I said, winking at Ellie and grinning back toward Nathaniel.

"At least they've already got the tree," Ellie mused.

"Indeed. Although I wouldn't mind watching you toss Emmett around again."

During last year's Christmas-tree search, Emmett had made it his mission to irritate his sister, trying to provoke her newborn temper. Despite Alice's repeated warnings that Ellie's patience would only go so far, this had been a favorite past time of Emmett's since her change. Ellie withstood his juvenile antics remarkably well for weeks, but I could tell as we headed out that night that her patience was wearing dangerously thin.

Most of his prodding had been mental, so I didn't know what it was he was thinking at that moment to set her off. But when I saw her expression darken dangerously I warned her brother immediately to cool it. As I expected, he ignored me, and before even Alice could see her decision, Ellie snapped. She grabbed hold of her brother and flung him into the forest, taking out two ancient trees in the process. Emmett had been fine, and laughed uproariously as we all reached him, pleased with himself for successfully enraging his sister.

She laughed. "I don't think I could pull that off now."

"I could be persuaded to help you," I said, smiling at the thought.

"Not if you want to live to see the New Year." She laughed again, shaking her head. "Esme would kill us all."

"Hey, even she agreed that Emmett had it coming."

"Perhaps, but you were all coddling the shit out of me at the time."

"True," I conceded sheepishly. I reached over to take her hand and pulled it to my lips. "No one wanted to face the ire of Eleanor after that." She pulled her hand free and smacked my chest.

"Ass," she huffed.

"I mean it. Anyone who can take out Emmett is seriously scary." She scowled and flicked my ear, as Nathaniel laughed from behind us.

The next morning, we dragged Nathaniel from his bed as the sun began to rise. He had no interest in waking at such an awful hour until I reminded him of our plans to hunt once the Denali's arrived. We arrived at Carlisle and Esme's house less than an hour later to find that the visiting coven had beat us there. As I pulled into the long driveway I could see Garrett and Eleazar unloading the Land Rover.

"Yes!" Nathaniel whispered from the back, and I chuckled as he scrambled to unfasten his restraint and burst from the car nearly the second it stopped moving. Ellie and I emerged quickly after him to greet them, offering to help carry in the bags. As we walked in the front door, Carmen quickly caught up Ellie in a hug, pulling her away from me.

As we moved further into the house, I took a look around and found the rest of the family engaged in various stages of greeting. Kate was embraced in turn by Edward, Bella, Alice and Jasper, and the group spoke quietly. Nessie, Jake and Rosalie moved over to where Ellie stood to greet Carmen. Emmett walked toward us, nodding to me and shaking hands with Eleazar and Garrett. Tanya and Nahuel spoke quietly with Carlisle.

I watched the new couple closely for a moment. Tanya seemed oddly anxious, her eyes darting around the room until they appeared to settle on Ellie. I nodded once when Nahuel looked up and caught my eye. He returned a stiff nod in my direction.

"Are you ready to head out?" Garrett asked, suddenly beside me again.

Before I could answer, Esme's narrowed eyes found us from across the crowded living room. "Not so fast, boys."

I cringed and glanced over to her. "We won't be gone long, Esme, I promise. You can put us all to work when we get back." I could see Ellie's smirk from the corner of my eye. I raised my brow at her, asking wordlessly for her intercession with her mother. She shook her head and shrugged.

"Christopher," Esme spoke up again. Her tone was patient but I could hear the slight edge to her voice. A hush spread across the living room as all eyes snapped toward Esme. Even Carlisle looked on with an amused expression. "Need I remind you that tomorrow is Christmas Eve?"

Nathaniel scooted around me to stand in front of his grandmother, taking hold of her hands. "Don't worry Grandma," he said sweetly. "I will make sure we get back in time to help with the tree." He flashed his warmest smile up at her, and I could see her expression soften immediately.

Moments later, we were on our way. "That was impressive, friend," Garrett commented with a laugh as we ran. We weren't moving too fast; Nathaniel had decided he wanted to ride on Garrett's shoulders for a while. "You've trained him well."

"I don't know if _trained_ is the right word. I could never get away with that."

Garrett glanced up toward Nathaniel. "You know, Nathaniel. Your Uncle Emmett would do well to keep on your good side, as often as he gets into trouble with Esme."

"Oh, don't give him ideas," I reproached with a groan. "That alliance would be seriously dangerous." Nathaniel laughed loudly; I had no doubt that he thought Garrett's idea was a good one.

It wasn't long before we caught the scent of some deer; we knew we likely wouldn't have time to find anything much more interesting on this outing. Garrett set Nathaniel down and we let him take the first crack at the small herd that was still oblivious to our approach. He attacked swiftly, bringing down a large buck. Garrett and I followed, and before more than a few minutes passed the herd had been decimated.

Once sated, I turned to see Nathaniel eyeing up a large tree that was likely at least as old as I was. "Go ahead," I said, nodding toward it. "Do not linger too high up, though; come straight back down."

Garrett and I sat down nearby, listening to him scurrying up through the branches.

"You don't worry about a repeat performance of the trick he played on Emmett?" he asked.

I chuckled and shook my head. "Not unless he has a death wish. I think Ellie would have his head if he pulled that number again."

Garrett nodded, grinning. "Fair point." He stared up at the tree quietly for a moment. "How is she? After…everything?" I knew he meant after Volterra.

"She's well. She was a little anxious at first, as we all were. It seemed so unlikely that we made it out so easily; I think we were all waiting for the other shoe to drop. I think she's settled some now, though."

"Eleazar thinks Aro will consider himself indebted to her, you know," Garrett mused.

I snorted and looked away. "Yeah, Carlisle said something similar."

"Not exactly a bad thing."

"True. I would rather not to be trading favors with Italy, however. I'd quite prefer to steer clear of them entirely, in future." Tiring of the subject, I squinted slightly, looking upward through the branches, spying Nathaniel's lithe form as he neared the top. "Remember, right back down!" I shouted up to him.

"Okay!" he shouted back.

Still gazing upward, I addressed Garrett again. "So, how are things in your household? I see Nahuel is still among you."

He snorted this time. "That drives you nuts, doesn't it?" He didn't wait for me to answer. "Yes, they seem to be…consistent. Kate says she's anxious about what happened this summer. She wants to tell him everything."

"So why hasn't she? The danger has passed; Aro knows everything. And Ellie says there was no indication that they've been anywhere near his sisters anyway."

"She's afraid he will be angry, I assume. I don't know. I don't speak with him much, to be honest. He and Tanya are usually together anyway." He shrugged dismissively. "The rest try to stay neutral. Understand that everyone is happy, myself included, seeing Tanya happy. But I haven't forgotten how quickly he would have sold you and Ellie out. He wants to take her south, to meet his aunt. I think they are planning to go after the New Year. I expect she will tell him everything, beforehand."

I nodded. I could appreciate the difficult position that Tanya found herself in following our last visit with her family. I tried to consider Nahuel's as well, should he come to find out exactly what had happened. I sighed, shaking my head.

"You know, I don't have that much sympathy for the man, given the trade off he suggested at the time. I do hope, however, for Tanya's sake, that if she tells him he understands she consented for his own protection."

Garrett nodded in silent agreement, watching the subtly shifting branches above us. I could see Nathaniel's feet as they reached a low branch. He dropped down so that he hung by his hands, swinging back and forth twice before flinging himself from the branch and landing gracefully in front of us.

As we neared the house a little while later, I could hear Esme shouting instructions over the din coming from inside. Ellie appeared in the backyard, having heard our approach.

"You three better get in there," she said, smiling as we approached. Nathaniel ran up for a quick hug before darting through the backdoor, Garrett following close behind. I paused in front of my wife, taking her hands.

"Did we miss anything interesting?" I asked, leaning in to kiss her.

I could feel her lips turn upward into a smile against mine. "Not really," she said, kissing me once more.

I pulled her toward the door. "Shall we, then?"

She didn't move with me, shaking her head. "I can't. I have been assigned to help Carlisle run an errand."

"What kind of errand?"

She grinned. _I can't speak out loud. Edward arranged for Charlie and Sue to come out to surprise Bella and Nessie for Christmas. _She clearly understood my dubious expression – it seemed like an odd choice to bring Charlie and Sue here now when the house was already bursting at the seams with vampires.

_I know. I think it was actually Charlie's idea, but Edward being Edward – he couldn't resist. Charlie and Sue will stay at Edward and Bella's house in the evenings. Alice seems to think it will be fine. They are bringing Seth and Leah, too. I don't think Jake knows about any of this either,_ she added, answering my next question.

"When are you two leaving?"

"Any second, I'm just waiting for Dad." She smiled and stood up on her toes, stretching for another kiss. I grabbed her around the waist and lifted her up.

"Hurry back, okay?"

I waved them off and turned to head back inside the house. I found Bella carrying two insanely large rolls of garland in from the garage, and I held out my hands automatically to take one from her.

"Thanks," she said, grinning.

"So, where do these monstrosities go?" I asked, looking around.

She rolled her eyes. "You are not new, Christopher Dawling. You know Esme's decorating scheme. One will hang from those rafters – " she pointed to my left, "and the other goes along the banister on the landing above us."

I laughed. "Fair enough. Where do you want to start?" I figured that if I jumped right in with a task that I didn't particularly like – in this case hanging garland – Esme might go easier on me later.

Wise to my game, Bella smiled. "Trying to get back into Esme's good graces?"

"Guilty. Come on, let's get this over with."

We walked upstairs to start work on the banister first. "What is it about this particular chore that you hate so much, anyway?" Bella asked. I chuckled. I hadn't realized that my disdain for this project was so well known, but realized Ellie must have told her at some point.

I shrugged. "It's slow." This was true – hanging garland, and putting the tree up for that matter, could not be done at normal speed.

She laughed. "Yeah, I guess it is."

We worked in silence for several more minutes, and eventually Esme declared that section to be suitable.

Once Esme had given her commendation on our work, I excused myself for a moment to peak in on Nathaniel. I found him by the huge fireplace in the living room, helping Rosalie arrange stockings. This had been Nathaniel's favorite part of the celebrations last year. Typically, the gift exchange in the household was fairly low key, and not the overtly material affair that existed in many human households. Small gifts and sometimes gags were typically placed in stockings, usually between spouses. Last year, though, Nathaniel was showered with presents, as Renesmee had been as a child. His favorite gift however, had been the leather-bound book of fairy tales that had been mine as a child, which I had carefully placed in his stocking last Christmas Eve. It now held a place of honor on his bookshelf in his room in Boston.

"Christopher." I turned toward the sound of my name, and saw Esme approaching. She came to a stop beside me, pausing to watch her grandson. "Can you help Emmett and Nahuel bring in the tree?"

"Sure, Esme," I said with a chuckle. I shook my head as I walked away. It was unlikely that it would really take three of us to put up the tree in the main sitting room, but I knew she didn't want Nahuel and I blatantly avoiding each other the whole time the Denali's were here. I walked out back and found them already carrying the large tree toward the house. I opened the door and held it as they came through.

"What's up Chris?" Emmett asked as they tried not to knock the branches against the doorframe.

"Esme has assigned me to help," I said.

Emmett grinned and shook his head. "I bet she did." He nodded toward the large window in the sitting room. "It's going over there."

I helped Nahuel hold the tree steady, though he could have easily managed on his own, while Emmett secured the tree in the stand that Rosalie had fashioned to accommodate it.

"Esme wants us to make nice, eh?" he asked bluntly.

I laughed. "I guess so."

"Ellie looks well," he said. "Better than before." He hesitated, and then continued. "She's adjusting okay now?"

I nodded once. "Yes."

"I'm sorry. I don't mean to pry."

I shrugged. "You're not, really. She's fine. How is Tanya? I haven't seen much of her yet."

He hesitated again. "She's...something is bothering her, since she agreed to come here. I don't know what it is." He looked up at me, appraising my reaction. I kept my expression neutral. "I get the impression that others here know why, and yet I do not."

I didn't reply. When he realized I wouldn't comment on his theory, he changed the subject, asking after Nathaniel. We chatted for a few moments more before Emmett declared the tree stable. Alice flew into the room and clapped her hands together excitedly.

"Yay!" She squealed. "I am going to start bringing down the ornaments." She waved a finger at Emmett. "Don't even think about it," she admonished ominously.

I raised my eyebrow questioningly at him, but he only grinned in return. Wanting nothing to do with whatever he was scheming, I took advantage of my momentary freedom to get some air.

"Ellie will be back in an hour, Chris!" Alice shouted to me as I left the room.

I walked out on the back porch and found Tanya sitting alone on the steps, apparently lost in thought. I walked to stand by the railing on the other side, giving her space. She startled as she recognized my presence.

"Sorry," I said quietly.

She shook her head. "Don't be." She smiled. "How are you, Chris? I'm sorry we haven't spoken yet."

"I'm fine, thank you. And you?"

She shrugged. "Can't complain. Much." She grinned, but her expression faltered. "You didn't tell him," she said softly, clearly referring to my conversation with Nahuel.

"I didn't feel it was my place."

"I will have to soon, I think. I wonder though if Ellie would object."

It was my turn to shrug. "That's between you and Nahuel, Tanya. I think Ellie would agree."

"He will be angry with us all."

"Tanya, with all due respect, I'm not that concerned about what angers him. Though I do hope it resolves quickly for your sake. I will not, however, allow him to badger Ellie about it."

She stiffened slightly, but nodded. "I understand." She walked back into the house without another word.

A few minutes later, I heard another set of footsteps approaching.

"Edward," I said, not turning around.

"Christopher," he replied. "Alice says Ellie and Carlisle are about ten minutes out."

I relaxed immediately, glad that Ellie would be home soon. "So what's the plan?" I asked.

Edward had suggested that we use Nathaniel to lure Bella outside, knowing that she wasn't likely to refuse him a request, no matter how random. He claimed that he had asked Esme's permission to hang some wreaths on the front windows, and needed someone to pick him up. Bella was barely tall enough for the task, but she didn't question it, much to our amusement as we listened from inside. As Bella and Nathaniel worked, we could hear the cars coming up the drive. It only took a second for her to notice that there were several newcomers in the vehicles, and only a second more to guess who was inside.

"Edward!" she cried. She whirled around toward the door as Edward walked outside.

"Yes?" he replied, grinning.

She ran over to him, smacking his arm before pulling him close. "Merry Christmas," he whispered.

She turned back toward the cars, which came to a stop just in front of the house. I stood in the doorway, attempting to wait patiently for Ellie to emerge. Nathaniel ran over to stand with me, and I placed my hands on his shoulders.

"Good job," I whispered to him. He flashed a smile at me before turning his eyes back to our guests, who had begun to climb from the cars. The rest of the family had trickled out through the garage, all but Jacob in on the surprise.

"What the hell?" Jake muttered as he walked out. Nessie squeezed his hand as it dawned on him that two of his packmates had also made the trek east. Seth got out of our car first – Carlisle had driven Charlie and Sue – and immediately walked over to greet Jake and Nessie. I saw out of the corner of my eye as Bella rush over to greet her father and Sue.

My primary focus was Ellie, who was finally making her way up the steps toward where Nathaniel and I stood. I picked Nathaniel up and we both reached out to her, pulling her in for a hug.

"Hey guys," she said. "Did you miss me?"

I rolled my eyes at her, kissing her quickly before she stole Nathaniel from me. I wrapped my arms around both of them, and she leaned back against me while we watched the ensuing mayhem. Bella had just released her father and Sue, chiding both Charlie and Edward for their conspiring.

I could see Leah walking hesitantly around the car, moving closer to her mother. She was still not comfortable with us, to put it mildly, and I was surprised that she had even agreed to come. Sue took her daughter's hand as both women glanced around with mirrored expressions of caution, surveying their surroundings.

Several things happened at once, seemingly in slow motion.

Ellie's posture straightened, and she gripped one of my hands in her own as if she were afraid she would fall. Nathaniel scrambled out of her arms, sensing her tension. Her eyes were unseeing, focused on thoughts unknown to me. Edward's face froze into a blank expression that was almost identical to Ellie's – I thought randomly how alike they looked at that moment. Jacob tore away from Seth, running over toward Leah, pushing past several people in the process.

"Ellie," I whispered, not understanding what was happening right before my eyes. Her hands flew to Nathaniel's shoulders, pulling him back against her. I saw the focus return to her eyes, and followed her gaze with my own.

Leah clung to her mother, who looked as if she could barely support the strength of her daughter's grip. Jacob reached them half a second later, taking hold of Leah's arms.

"Dear god," I gasped. "No."


	16. Tidings We Bring

Chapter 15. Tidings We Bring.

"Ellie," I whispered, shaking her arm. _What just happened? _I knew the answer, but my brain couldn't quite form the words to speak them. I forced my eyes away from Leah for a moment and saw the rest of the family, all realizing now what was going on, and all looking as shocked as I felt.

It was Jacob who spoke first, though his words were only meant for Leah. "Hey," he said softly, assuming the calm, controlled demeanor of the alpha. "It's okay. It's going to be all right." She was trembling; her eyes were fixed on Nathaniel. I doubted that she'd even blinked in the few seconds that had passed. She let Jacob embrace her. She didn't look like she would have been able to stand much longer without his support.

"She imprinted," said Ellie, finally speaking the words. "She's…_imprinted_. On _Nathaniel_." Ellie whirled around to face me, still clutching Nathaniel with one hand and me with the other. Her eyes were wide with fear and disbelief; I was sure she saw the same in mine.

"What in the hell is going on here?" Charlie asked in frustration, looking around at the multitude of stoic vampires, all frozen in stress. Nessie walked over to him.

"It's okay, Grandpa," she said softly. She hugged him and whispered, "Remember all that need to know stuff?"

Charlie swallowed roughly. "Ugh. Yeah, I guess so. Okay, well can we all stop standing around?"

Carlisle got it together first, fixing a relaxed expression on his face. "Forgive us Charlie, we were all a bit taken aback there for a moment. Please, come in." Carlisle gestured for Charlie to go first, and Charlie took Sue's hand. She shook her head, asking for a moment to talk to Leah alone. Charlie nodded and walked toward the front door with Nessie, Carlisle and Esme behind them. I moved to let them pass.

Everyone else filed in past us. I picked Nathaniel up and led Ellie around to the back of the house. I didn't think any of us were ready to go inside and face the masses, but I wanted to give Leah and Sue some measure of privacy. I sat down against a large tree, pulling Nathaniel into my lap. Ellie sat down across from me.

"Mommy," Nathaniel whispered, tugging on his mother's sleeve. "Don't worry." She smiled sweetly at him, reaching out to gently stroke his face.

"Nathaniel," I said quietly, turning him a little so I could see his face. "Do you understand what just happened?"

He was quiet for a moment as he thought. Ellie's eyes narrowed in concentration as she listened to him process his answer. I watched them both, trying to be patient as I waited for someone to speak.

"Leah will be my mate," he said simply, confidently.

"Perhaps," I said slowly as Ellie's eyes flashed to mine. I couldn't quite read her expression, but it was clear she wanted to be cautious about this. We still didn't know – or at least _I_ still didn't know – how Leah was handling this news.

"No, she will be," he vowed. "I can tell."

I laughed. "Well, we have some time to work out the finer details. For now, your mother and I want to make sure you're okay."

"I'm not." The sharpness of his admission shocked us both for a moment.

"Oh honey," Ellie said, holding her arms out. "It's okay. It's nothing to be frightened of."

"No, I know that," he said, obliging his mother by crawling into her lap. "But no one has let me talk to her yet."

"Oh," Ellie said with a nervous laugh. "Well, let's give her a few minutes, okay? I'm sure this was a bit of a shock to her."

"Doesn't she want to talk to me?"

Ellie didn't answer – she was listening carefully again to something. Before I could speak up, she smiled slightly, relief washing over her face.

"Nathaniel," a voice whispered quietly through the trees. I could hear footsteps approaching. The three of us stood and turned toward the sounds, and I saw my son smile brilliantly as Leah stepped forward. "I would like very much to talk to you." She held out her hand, looking up to Ellie and me. "If it's okay with your parents, of course."

Ellie and I made our way back inside after Nathaniel wasted no time in running over to take Leah's hand. We walked in through the kitchen, and could both hear the noise from the main sitting room as everyone attempted to settle back into our normal, pre-holiday state. I stopped just inside the glass door and grabbed Ellie's hand, turning her to face me.

"Hey," I whispered, cupping her face with my hands. "Are you okay?

She smiled slightly and shrugged, covering one of my hands with her own. "I honestly have no idea how to answer that. Are _you _okay?"

I chuckled and shook my head dubiously, kissing her once. "I have no idea how to answer that, either." I held her forehead to my own for several moments.

Her eyes narrowed slightly as she listened to what was going on further inside the house. I could of course hear the muted conversations, but I knew that wasn't the center of her focus. "Frederick's coming now," she whispered. "He's going to love this."

"Oh man," I mumbled. I was really growing to like Ellie's pensive uncle. Now that we all knew him a bit better, we were starting to see more of his personality and humor, and I had little doubt that he would find some amusement in this new situation. He would also, however, be intensely concerned about how this would impact Nathaniel. Before Frederick could even get to the door, we could both hear Nathaniel, still outside with Leah, rush around to the front of the house to greet him.

"Come on," Ellie said. "We'd better get in there." She led me by the hand into the massive sitting room. Charlie and Sue sat in the far corner with Bella. They were speaking quietly – Bella was trying to carry on a normal conversation to distract Charlie from the strange events that occurred upon their arrival. Sue's eyes met mine for a fraction of a second as they spoke. Her lips twitched as if she had attempted a timid smile, but she looked away quickly. Ellie and I would have to speak with her soon, I knew, but at this point I had no idea what to say. Ellie walked quickly to take a seat on the couch beside her mother, who flashed a gentle smile to her daughter as we sat down.

I looked around the rest of the room. Jake stood off in the corner to our left, beside the great bay window overlooking the front of the property. Carlisle and Seth stood on either side of him, and the three carried on their own conversation. Carlisle was peppering Jacob with questions about the immediate aftermath of his own imprint – though much of it I was sure Carlisle remembered well. Edward and Renesmee stood nearby. Edward was monitoring what was unspoken, and every once in a while Renesmee would reach out to either Jacob or Carlisle to give some wordless input.

"Where are the Denalis?" I whispered to Ellie, too quietly for Charlie and Sue to hear.

"They went out for a while. Giving us all a bit of space. They will be back in a few hours," she replied. "Though I think Tanya may have decided to have that chat with Nahuel that she's been debating."

"Oh good," I muttered sarcastically. "Because we need some excitement around here." I squeezed her hand.

She leaned her head on my shoulder, and as I turned to kiss the top of her head, my gaze flashed to the tree. All of the ornaments now hung neatly from its branches – Alice had evidently put her nervous energy to work during our absence.

"She can't see very well right now," Ellie whispered to me, having heard me thinking of her sister. "She's going to have to work to see around Leah for a while, like she did with Jake."

Alice's visions had been mostly unencumbered by Jake's presence for quite some time. And she could even work around the presence of Seth, Leah, and the rest of the pack members when they would visit (or when Jake and Nessie went out to visit them). Her visions were far less distinct then, but she was no longer totally blind. However, the imprint tied Leah and Nathaniel together to such a degree that for the time being, Nathaniel was all but invisible to her. Naturally, this made all of us anxious.

"Nathaniel," Alice chirped anxiously. "Do you think you could go sit by your parents for a few minutes? And let Leah sit over by Sue?"

Nathaniel's grip on Leah's hand tightened and he obstinately shook his head. I considered intervening, but Leah beat me to it.

"It's okay, Nathaniel," she said. The adoration on her face surprised me. "Go sit with your parents." He looked like he wanted to argue, but he nodded and scooted across the room to us, taking one of each of our hands as he sat down between us.

A little while later, Charlie and Sue decided they wanted to go back to Edward and Bella's house to get some rest after their travels. Bella drove them the short distance to the house, and returned within the hour. Leah and Seth stayed behind, but went out for a run with Jacob shortly after Bella came back, giving the rest of us a much-needed opportunity to speak freely. Evening had settled over the house, and once Nathaniel dozed off we tucked him carefully in bed and crept back downstairs, where the rest of the family waited to discuss the day's events.

"So," Carlisle said pleasantly as we took our seats in the so-called dining room. Ellie and her siblings had taken to nicknaming the dining room the "conference room," since that was really the only thing this room was ever used for. "It's been an interesting day around here."

Alice huffed in frustration – separating Nathaniel and Leah before hadn't helped her much. Ellie snorted and shook her head, but her face turned serious as her eyes met Edward's across the table.

"Hmm," she said, fidgeting anxiously with her wedding rings. "I thought I picked up something like that. Shit."

He nodded. "I'm not sure how much she will really tell him."

Ellie considered Edward's vague answer, listening to something the rest of us couldn't hear. She leaned in toward him, her eyes narrowed as she spoke again.

"Can she even do that?"

"He's married into the tribe now, so she thinks she can." Edward shrugged.

"Guys. Seriously?" Emmett grumbled, waving his hands between the two of them. "What the hell are you talking about?"

I put my hand on Ellie's shoulder. "Yeah, baby, can you fill in some blanks, please?"

She smiled sheepishly. "Sorry." She glanced back to Edward who gestured for her to speak first. "Chris, when we came back in I was listening to Charlie and Sue – as was Edward. It seems that Charlie is getting more curious about…things. He has obviously picked up on the fact that Sue is in on pretty much everything here."

She paused, looking around to gauge everyone's reactions. Most everyone appeared impassive, except for Rosalie, who scowled. Bella chewed her lip.

"Has he made any…guesses?" she asked, looking back and forth between Ellie and Edward. Both shook their heads.

"Not as far as I can tell," Edward said, trying to assure her.

"Anyway," Ellie continued. "He was strongly considering asking Sue to fill in the blanks now. Edward and I both think they are probably having that conversation right now."

All eyes fell on Alice, who leaned against Jasper as she tried to see. "Yes," she said quietly. "I think you are right."

Bella groaned and dropped her head in her hands. Edward and Nessie both rubbed her back. We spent the next several hours debating the implications of this latest development.

"Carlisle, it's too dangerous for him to know all of this. Surely Sue understands that," Esme had said, her eyes creased with worry.

"Bella – can't you put a stop to this?" Rosalie argued. "This is an unnecessary risk to the whole family."

"Is it really though?" Bella countered, picking her head up. "I mean, Sue knows everything because she's an elder now, right?" All eyes flashed to Renesmee, since Jacob wasn't there to participate, who nodded in response to Bella's question. "So technically, hasn't he sort of married into some of that privilege?"

Renesmee sighed and leaned back in her chair, looking up toward the ceiling. "We need Jacob here for this conversation, Mom. I really don't know."

"Does it matter?" Ellie asked. "It's not like the Volturi are really going to care what the tribal rules say. And it sounds like the decision has been made, so I think we need to just deal with it."

Everyone now looked to Carlisle, who shrugged, seeming rather untroubled. "I don't think it's going to cause much of a problem at this point, honestly. It's not as if he hasn't already witnessed far more than we would typically allow a human to see – Renesmee alone is proof of that. He's not going to expose us, because that would put people he loves in danger. The only risk would be another encounter with the Volturi, but I'm inclined to believe that Aro considers himself indebted to Eleanor, so even if we encountered them again in the near future I don't foresee a huge reason for concern."

Ellie eyed her father skeptically. "Daddy, I'm not sure we should put too much stock in this supposed favor that you think Aro believes he owes me. Frankly, I would think he considers it an even trade since he let us all go."

"But we did nothing wrong, sweetie. He knew that or he would never have listened to you in the first place. And he is driven by order and balance – I am certain he considers what you did above and beyond what was required given that you were never in the wrong to begin with."

Ellie opened her mouth to argue further, but halted when Edward held up his hand. "We could spend many hours debating this, Ellie. But I think the point here is that there is little risk, given how much Charlie already knows."

Ellie nodded, unconvinced, but willing to let it drop. Edward turned to Alice. "Alice, any chance you can see what we're in for in the morning when they return?"

Everyone relaxed a little when Alice announced that Charlie would not be in a rage when he and Sue returned in the morning – Bella had left them the car and ran back so that they could come back at their leisure. But he did want a chance to ask questions – she could see that he would be quite insistent. Despite that, she explained that his primary focus, for the moment at least, would be to do what he could to support Sue in the wake of Leah's imprint. Carlisle looked over to Ellie and me.

"And that brings us back to what I had initially intended to discuss," he said with a peaceful smile. "Ellie, Christopher, I'm sure today was a bit shocking for you."

I laughed. "No, not at all," I joked. Ellie elbowed me. "I mean, yes of course. We haven't really had a chance to absorb it all yet."

"Nathaniel seems to be taking it in stride," Esme said. "Did I hear him declare Leah his mate earlier?"

I sighed. "Yes."

"It was like a switch flipped for him, too," Ellie said softly, glancing over at Renesmee. "I don't know how much you recall, Ness, when Jake…"

Ness nodded. "I remember. I didn't have much of a basis for comparison, obviously, being what, an hour old? But I do remember feeling a sudden…shift."

Ellie considered this for a moment, and then went on, "His thoughts are incredibly…possessive of her. Already."

"Yes. Renesmee's were at that stage as well," Edward added, rolling his eyes. "I understand it all better now, obviously, but at the time I had a hard time reconciling that."

"Yeah," Ellie said simply, rubbing her eyes with her thumb and forefinger. "That's kind of where I'm at right now." I reached my arm around her shoulders.

"Edward, did you get a sense of how Leah is taking all of this?" I asked. "We obviously haven't had a chance to speak with her yet."

Edward thought for a moment. "You know, I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised, but she was almost immediately resigned to the…pull."

Jasper nodded his agreement with this. "She was," he concurred. "The was a split second where she seemed to want to fight it, but it was incredible – once it settled in, she was entirely at peace with it."

"From what I could hear," Carlisle piped up, "when she was speaking with Sue immediately after, she was mostly just trying to reassure her mother."

"That's true," Edward agreed. "There was one thing, though. Sue was trying not to think about it – it's certainly putting the cart before the horse at this point – but I heard it." He looked over to us apologetically before he continued. "Sue is worried that when Nathaniel is old enough for their relationship to…mature the way we all expect it to, that his being venomous will be dangerous for Leah."

I stared at Edward for a moment or two, not understanding what he was getting at. "Oh," I said lamely when I finally realized that we were speaking of the potential for a sexual relationship. "Good lord. He's hardly a year old, Edward."

Ellie bit her lip and looked down at her hands on the table. I took one of her hands in my own and squeezed. She looked up at me, her eyes wary. "He may only be a year old, Chris, but it's only another six or so before he's mature."

"I know that," I answered quietly.

Carlisle looked pointedly to Edward and Bella before continuing. "Well, we do know – and forgive me for using the two of you as an example here – that, save for the issue of pregnancy, vampires and humans can consummate a relationship without the venom entering the bloodstream in such a way that causes any kind of transformation. So my _guess_ would be that the danger from the venom specifically only exists if she were bitten. But, that does not address the potential dangers of a pregnancy."

I sighed and leaned back in my chair, pinching the bridge of my nose. "I know he's going to grow up quickly, but is there any chance we can table this particular conversation, at least for a year or two?"

"Yes, please," Bella whispered, mortified. Emmett laughed.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a small smile on Carlisle's lips. I raised an eyebrow at him. "Yes, I know. Payback's a bitch."

He shook his head, laughing. "Not at all, Christopher. I'm sorry, that's really not what I was thinking. I can sympathize with these concerns, however. Unfortunately, I don't really have an answer. My _theory_ – and understand it is simply a guess at this point – is that the imprint wouldn't have occurred if they could not be…compatible in that way. But I have no other evidence to support that, obviously. Not at this point anyway."

"So," I said, looking at Edward and Bella now. "What the hell do we do now?"

Bella laughed, and Edward shook his head sympathetically. "Roll with it," Bella advised. "And realize that she's probably going to want to stay nearby."

"I figured that," Ellie said with a resigned sigh. "I remember how twitchy Jake got being away from Renesmee even for short periods of time." She looked over at me. "What do you think the odds are that she will let us set her up in the area?"

I snorted, shaking my head. Given Leah's general disdain for our family I doubted that she would be easily convinced to accept much. "Let's cross that bridge when we come to it. If nothing else, we have extra room in the houses so I suppose she could stay there if she wants to, at least until something more permanent can be arranged."

"Speaking of," Edward said. "They are on their way back. I think Leah wants to talk to you guys before Charlie and Sue come back."

As predicted, Jacob, Seth and Leah filed in through the front door minutes later. Renesmee rose to hug Jacob before taking his hand and leading him back to join us in the conference room.

"I think we will all go meet up with the Denali's," Carlisle announced. He stood and the rest of the family got up as well. Edward clapped my shoulder as he passed, smirking. I resisted the urge to aim a shove in his direction.

"Christopher, Ellie, do you mind if Jake and Nessie stay?" Leah asked timidly.

"Of course not," Ellie replied with a smile. "I was thinking that might be helpful as well. Why don't we sit and talk in the living room? More comfortable – there's no need to be formal."

We took our seats – Ellie and I on one sofa, Jake and Renesmee across from us, and Leah in the armchair that sat in between.

"Leah," Ellie spoke first, breaking the nervous silence. "How are you? I am sorry we didn't really get a chance to speak earlier, but Nathaniel was so excited…"

Leah flashed a bright smile at the mention of Nathaniel. "Please don't apologize. I am…fine. More than fine. I don't really understand any of it yet; I will be honest. Jake and I talked quite a bit, and I'm very glad he's here to help sort through everything." She smiled at Jake – I found myself surprised at how much her demeanor had changed.

Renesmee leaned her head against Jacob's shoulder, trying to hide a yawn behind her hand.

"Oh, I'm sorry Renesmee. I forgot it's been a long day for you too," Leah said.

"No worries," she answered sleepily. "I want to be here. I'm very happy for you, Leah. Truly." Jake kissed her head, and then leaned forward slightly to speak.

"Chris, Ellie, as you might expect, Leah is feeling a bit overwhelmed by the idea of being on the other side of the country from Nathaniel. And, Leah, please jump in here if I get any of this wrong," he paused, glancing at Leah, "she's also not sure what your feelings are about her being around. "

Ellie squeezed my hand, which I took as my cue to speak. "We discussed that a bit, earlier. Of course, we understand that you would want to be near him, Leah. We remember well how that was for Jacob when Renesmee was small. I believe we can say with certainty that Nathaniel will want the same. We are happy to help make whatever arrangements you are comfortable with."

"Thank you, both. I know I have not always been particularly pleasant to your family." She smiled ruefully. "I realize this may sound trite, but I am sorry about that now."

Ellie and I shook our heads simultaneously. "Don't worry about that," Ellie said.

We talked for a couple of hours more. Leah hammered us with questions about Nathaniel and listened with rapt attention as we provided her with as much information as she wanted. I was again surprised at how much more comfortable she seemed around us now. When her enthusiasm started to give way to exhaustion, we decided to adjourn our conversation for the time being.

As Jake and Nessie rose, I glanced over to Ellie. _Hey, _I thought. _You want to get some air?_

She smiled. "Jacob," I said. "Would you mind keeping an ear out for Nathaniel for a bit?"

"Sure, Chris. I was planning on staying up anyway."

Renesmee rolled her eyes. "You can stay up, but I'm going to crash. Night guys."

"Come on," I said, pulling Ellie to her feet. When we reached the back yard, I looked to the east. "Where did everyone else go?"

"Umm, to the north I think. I heard Tanya say something about heading that way, and that's what Alice was thinking when the rest of them left."

"Good. This way, then." She kept up easily when I took off running, still holding her hand. We ran in silence for about twenty minutes.

"Where are we headed, exactly?" Ellie asked.

"Not much further," I answered, picturing the location I was headed toward in my mind. "Up for a swim?"

She laughed. "Won't the water be frozen over?"

"Not here. At least it wasn't when I came by this way with Emmett last week. Come on." I led her through the forest, along a path that brought us to the shore of Lake Winnipesaukee. Ellie watched me, amused, as I quickly stripped down to jump in the water.

"What?" I answered her unspoken skepticism. "It's one a.m. on Christmas Eve, in New Hampshire for god's sake. Who is going to be out here?"

"True," she agreed, laughing. She hastily removed her clothes and I threw her over my shoulder. "Christopher!" she squealed, laughing and flailing her arms and legs trying to free herself. "Put me down!"

I waded into the water until it was nearly waist high, my arms locked around her. "If you insist," I replied, and hurled her into the deeper water, where she landed with a dramatic splash.

She surfaced quickly, swearing at me. "You are in so much trouble Christopher Dawling!" she cried.

The severity of her threat was dwarfed by her laughter. I started to wade in closer to her, but before I could reach her she dove under, swimming straight for my feet. She knocked my legs out from under me and I went under, slamming into lake floor. I came back up sputtering, laughing with her. It was shallow enough where she pulled me down that I could sit, so I pulled her into my lap, letting the calm water lap around us.

"Hi," I whispered into her hair after several quiet minutes.

She laughed softly. "Hi."

I kissed her just below her ear. "What's funny?"

"You. I still can't believe you threw me in like that. Jerk."

"Guilty," I retorted, snickering. "I suppose we're lucky somebody didn't come out here with a shot gun, as much noise as you made." I shifted her so that her legs were across my lap so I could see her face. "So. Today – or, yesterday I guess, really – was a very long day."

She nodded, leaning her head down on my shoulder.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"More talking?" she quipped. "Did you really bring us out here to talk?" I knew as she turned herself around to face me that this question was rhetorical; she was clearly very well aware that talking was not on my mind at this moment.

* * *

After a couple of hours playing around in the water, we emerged and sat down on the beach try dry off a bit before getting dressed for the run back.

"How pissed do you think Charlie will be once he's filled in on all the sordid details?" I wondered aloud.

"No idea," Ellie responded with a hard laugh, leaning back against my chest. "I'm kind of glad that he decided to press for details though. It will be good for Sue to be able to have someone else in on…everything."

"She's not thrilled about the imprint, is she?"

Ellie sighed and took my hand, playing with my ring as she often did when she was contemplating. "No. She's not. I really tried hard not to listen to her and Leah before, but you know I can't totally tune things out. Edward mentioned one of Sue's concerns, earlier, but that wasn't everything. The reason Leah was so focused on reassuring her mother was because she knew exactly what Sue would be thinking. And she was completely right. Sue just kept thinking how she wanted more for Leah. She wanted her to find someone _normal_. She wanted an end to all this mystical nonsense – Sue's words, not mine – for her daughter."

I was quiet for a moment. As I thought over her words, I gently took hold of her wet hair and twisted it loosely, draping over her shoulder. I wrapped my arms around my wife and rested my chin on her shoulder.

"Well," I said with a sigh, "I think I can understand her feeling that way. It's all about perspective, I think. I mean, for me at least, now that I've had at least a little time to process things, I definitely see how this is kind of a good thing – for Nathaniel anyway. I can honestly say that there is a part of me that's relieved at the idea that we already know – that _he_ already knows – with whom he is meant to spend his life. There won't be years of searching or wondering for him." Ellie turned slightly to see my face.

"I never knew you worried about that until today," she whispered, placing her hand on my cheek.

I turned my face slightly to kiss her fingertips. "Honestly, I didn't either. I hadn't really thought about until all of this." I flashed a rueful grin. "But for _Sue_, her perspective is entirely different, isn't it? I would guess that she never really wanted this pack life for her children. I mean, correct me if I am wrong here, but I don't think you need to be telepathic to read that on her face when she sees them. And now, there's no escaping it. She's tied to an immortal being. It's a commitment that she had no say in and she's forever bound to."

"Hmm," Ellie murmured. She turned again to face me. "You see so much. Who needs a telepath or two when you can peg the issue so precisely?" She smiled and kissed me lightly. "You're right about all of that, of course. I just…I don't want her to resent Nathaniel, I guess? He and Leah and are both equally innocent in this situation; I want them to be able to find their way without too much external drama."

"It will all work out, Ellie." I pressed my lips back to hers, pulling back after several minutes of soft, sweet kisses. "If nothing else, Nathaniel is quite the charmer. I'm sure he will win Sue and Charlie over without a problem." Ellie laughed at this – she knew I was only half joking.

"Hey," she said after a few minutes of silence. "Do you think I should change my plans? For school I mean? I know my classes are in the evenings, but I just realized I'm going to be gone more than usual. I don't want to leave you alone to deal with whatever fall out may come…"

"Absolutely not. As long as you still want to go, then I want you to go, okay?" I twisted myself so I could see her face. "Don't worry about the rest of this. We will figure it out, together, but it doesn't mean you have to change anything."

She nodded and started to stand up. "We ought to get back so we can shower before the next showdown."

I laughed and stood with her, and a few seconds later we were running full speed, headed first back to our house to clean up and change. The sun was already starting to appear on the horizon so we didn't linger there for too long. When we got back to main house, we found the Denali's out back, arranging several old tree trunks around the yard, presumably with instructions from Alice, much like we had done after Nessie and Jacob's wedding. On Christmas Eve, the family would gather outside for a bonfire that typically lasted until the dawn – at least for those of us that could stay awake that long. Last year, Nathaniel insisted on staying outside for the duration of the night, so we tucked him into a warm sleeping bag when he could no longer stay awake.

Remembering this gave me an idea. "Ellie," I whispered. "If Frederick is willing, what would you say to my asking him to keep Nathaniel entertained for a while today? At least when Charlie and Sue get here?"

She smiled. "Good idea." She kissed me quickly and ran into the house to get Nathaniel up, and in the meantime, I spoke with Frederick, who readily agreed to mind Nathaniel for a while at our house. Shortly after they left, Ellie and Edward both turned their heads toward the front of the house.

"It's show time," Ellie said.


	17. The Truth And Nothing But

Chapter 16.

"It's show time," Ellie said. We could all hear the tires on the drive as the car slowly approached the house.

"Hmm," Edward said quietly. "Well, it seems Sue spared few details."

No one else spoke as we listened to the car get closer, until Rosalie broke the collective silence, sighing with irritation.

"I'm going outside to help with the set-up for tonight, _unless_ there are objections?" She glanced over to Carlisle, her expression making it clear that she expected to be granted permission to take her leave. Ellie had explained to me that Rosalie would be the most difficult about this, hating to have any humans in on our secrets, even Bella's father.

Carlisle nodded to her. "Of course, Rose."

She glanced expectantly to Emmett. "Aw come on, Rosie. I want to see how the chief takes it all!" he whined. She rolled her eyes and stalked off. He swore quietly and followed after her.

"Well," Edward muttered, "now that we're done making sure Rosalie has been suitably accommodated…"

"Edward," Esme admonished. "You know how she feels about this sort of thing."

Before he could comment further, the car came to a slow stop in front of the house. Bella's eyes widened in anxiety – up to this point her expression had been stoic, almost emotionless.

"How is he?" she whispered.

"He's still...stunned, I think. She explained it to him through the legends - I think he pieced it together very much like you did." Edward put his arm around her waist and kissed her forehead. "He wants to hear it from us, though."

We could hear the footsteps walking toward the front door. Edward took Bella's hand and raised his eyebrow, wordlessly suggesting that they answer the door together. Bella blanched, frozen in place. Edward shot a glance over to Carlisle, who nodded and went to the door instead.

"Carlisle," I heard Charlie grunt as the door opened.

"Charlie, Sue. I hope your evening was…restful," Carlisle said pleasantly. Ellie snorted beside me.

"What?" I whispered. She shook her head, smiling slightly. "Come here," I said, taking her hand and walking over toward a large armchair in the corner of the room. I sat down, pulling her into my lap.

_You look positively delectable today, by the way_, I thought to her as we waited for Charlie, Sue and Carlisle to join us in the living room. When we got dressed earlier today, she surprised me, veering from her usual casual style and choosing a short, gray, pleated skirt, which she paired with a simple cream turtleneck sweater that clung to her curves. It would be all I could do to tear my eyes away from her legs, which were bare except for the nearly knee-high boots she was wearing.

She smiled and kissed me once in thanks for the compliment, but her lips didn't linger on mine. She snapped her head around to face Edward.

"Edward-" Ellie called, but he cut her off.

"I know." They stared at each other for a long moment, before the sound of footsteps finally moving in from the entry way drew everyone's attention.

_What was that? _I asked silently.

"Later," Ellie whispered simply.

Carlisle led Charlie and Sue into the sitting room, and Esme stood, smiling. "Charlie, Sue. Good morning," she said, waving her arm toward the open sofa. "Please, have a seat." As they slowly sat down, Charlie looked around the room, appraising everyone. His eyes rested first to his far left, where Jasper and Alice were seated in much the same position as Ellie and I were. I saw his eyes breeze past us to Jake and Renesmee, who sat together on the opposite sofa. Carlisle and Esme stood behind them, but as Charlie took his inventory of the room they walked around to sit as well.

Edward and Bella stood to Sue's right, but Bella quickly moved to sit beside her father. He shifted in his seat to face her, scrutinizing her as if seeing her for the very first time.

"I know you've had a lot to take in over the last day," Carlisle said. "We thought you might like the opportunity to speak with us candidly, Charlie." Charlie swallowed roughly and looked at Carlisle for several seconds without speaking, appraising Carlisle's features as he had just done to Bella's, taking inventory of all the things that mark the differences of our kind.

"Charlie," Esme spoke now, her tone gentle. "We will tell you anything you want to know."

Charlie leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, covering his face with his hands for a moment. "Anything I want to know," he scoffed. When he looked up again, he was glaring. He directed his angry stare at Edward first, then Bella. Sue put her hand on his shoulder in support as he breathed in to speak. I felt Ellie tense before the words left his mouth.

"What I want you to tell me is that this is all a bunch of nonsense," he said. His voice was low, seething. He looked around the room again at all of us – we all sat unmoving, save for Renesmee and Jacob, who fidgeted anxiously.

When no one else spoke, Jacob looked across the coffee table to Charlie. "Charlie-" he started, but Bella's father cut him off.

"No Jacob,' Charlie barked, wagging his finger at his grandson-in-law. "Don't 'Charlie,' me, damn it. How is any of this even _possible_?" Bella reached to take his hand, but he shook her off, standing and starting to pace.

"Maybe," he muttered, almost to himself, as he stared at the floor and continued to pace. "_Maybe_ it's me. Maybe _I'm_ just crazy." He looked back to Jacob, pointing his finger, his eyes wild. "You didn't _really_ turn into a giant damn dog years ago. I imagined that, and now I've imagined that Sue thinks you're all vampires."

"Charlie," Sue whispered, taking his hand and urging him back to the couch. "Sit, honey. Please."

He looked at her with a pained expression, but did as she instructed.

"Dad. Dad, look at me," Bella pleaded. "I'm sorry." She took his hand, and this time she didn't let him pull away. "Dad," she said again. He looked up this time, his eyes still distressed. He looked as if he had aged several years right before our eyes.

"So," he choked. "It's all true then? You're…_vampires_?"

Bella cringed at the word. "Yes," she breathed.

He cringed and shifted his gaze to his hands. "Sue says you don't...um, eat?" He looked up cautiously for affirmation. "People, I mean."

"Also true, in general." No one spoke for several minutes; we all waited while Charlie collected his thoughts.

"You don't look older. In nearly ten years, you don't look a second older. You can't...die?"

"Basically," Bella said quietly.

Charlie glared at Edward now. Ellie cringed in reaction to whatever he was thinking, but Edward's face remained impassive, his eyes flashing to Ellie's for barely a second before he looked back to Charlie.

"What was that?" Charlie barked suddenly. "That look?" His stare shifted to Ellie.

"You two do that a lot," he said simply. "I suppose you're going to tell me now that you can read each other's minds or something."

It was clear from Sue's expression that she hadn't explained this to her inquisitive husband. I laughed.

"What?" Charlie asked me. "Why is that funny?"

"Because it's true," Edward said simply. Ellie nodded, grinning slightly.

"You know, Charlie, you should have joined the FBI or something," she joked.

"Nah," he said evenly. "You two just aren't as sly as you think you are."

Everyone laughed and the tension in the room immediately lessened.

Charlie leaned forward again, focusing on Carlisle now. "So, I suppose some of you have been around for quite a while. Since you don't…die." He made a face. "Or age even."

Carlisle smiled. "Yes." Charlie waited for him to go on. "I'm the oldest of our immediate family - though some of our Alaskan cousins outside have been around far longer."

"How long are we talking?"

Carlisle chuckled and explained that he was born around 1640, pausing to let Charlie absorb that information. Charlie raised his eyebrows at Sue, but quickly recovered, glancing to Edward next.

"And you?"

"I was born in 1901." It appeared that Charlie was doing the math in his head, shaking it slowly. "Chris is older than I am," he added, deflecting Charlie's attention my way.

"Oh yeah? Are you going to tell me you're from the Civil War or something?" Ellie dissolved into a fit of laughter at his remark, leaning her head on my shoulder as she tried to compose herself.

"Actually, that's Jasper," she said between giggles. She tapped my chest lightly. "This one fought in the Revolution."

"The _American_ Revolution?" Charlie flopped back against the sofa. "Now you're just screwing with me."

"No, it's true," I said. "I was born in 1755. I fought briefly before I was turned."

"On our side?" Charlie asked, raising an eyebrow.

I chuckled. "Yes sir. I was a sergeant in the 1st Continental Regiment."

Charlie nodded. He turned to Jasper; no doubt to follow-up on Ellie's comment about her brother, when another thought seemed to occur to him. Edward snickered and Ellie bit her lip, trying to hold in another laugh of her own.

"It's morning," Charlie said randomly, looking at Edward, then Bella. "Daytime."

"Um, yeah Dad," Bella said, not understanding his random statement.

Charlie waved his hands in front of him, palms up. "So, how?"

Now Bella laughed, sharing a look with Edward. "Myth, Dad. We don't sleep at all."

"Speak for yourself, Mom," Renesmee piped up with a grin.

"Half-breed," Ellie cracked.

"Turncoat," Nessie spat back. Ellie shook with silent laughter.

"Enough," Carlisle admonished, calling his daughter and granddaughter back to order with a look.

"Sorry," Ellie said, clearing her throat and trying to compose herself as Charlie stared, confused.

Charlie looked at Edward and then Carlisle. "What the hell was _that _about? What did she mean, half-breed?"

"She means that I'm only half-vampire, Grandpa," Renesmee explained.

"Half…? How is that possible?" Charlie again spoke as if he was talking to himself. "I mean, I _knew_ you were…different. You grew so fast." His eyes flashed between Bella and Renesmee before narrowing again and shifting back to Bella. "So, all that stuff about you being sick. You really were pregnant then?"

He exhaled loudly as Bella nodded, glaring at Edward again.

"I always figured it was something like that, but the timing just never made sense."

"Hybrid pregnancies are much shorter than their human equivalents," Carlisle explained softly. "It was very…difficult for Bella. Bella was the first mother to survive…as far as we know."

The color drained from Charlie's face at this, and turned back to face Bella. "Survive. But you didn't, really. Did you? That's why isn't it...why you're like this?"

"Yes and no," Bella replied hesitantly. "It would have happened eventually. But we didn't exactly...plan Renesmee."

"But you planned to be like this?" Charlie pressed. "_He _planned to make you like this." His eyes flashed back to Edward, accusing.

"Yes, Dad. I pushed _him_. He argued against it."

"That didn't matter in the end, Charlie," Edward said quietly. "It was the only way to save her." Renesmee grimaced, and Jacob wrapped an arm around her shoulders in support.

"It's true, Charlie," Ellie spoke up, flashing a worried glance to Renesmee. "My own mother – my birth mother, I mean – died giving birth to me. We've known of a few cases like mine as well."

"Your mother?" Charlie asked, looking closely at Ellie now. "You were like Nessie. I remember. But you look so different now." He narrowed his eyes as he looked at my wife again. "Nathaniel – he's what, about a year? You weren't pregnant at Ness and Jake's wedding, right?"

"Right," Ellie said softly, taking my hand. "Not until a month or so after." This appeared to confuse him as well. "My pregnancy was a bit longer than Bella's. It's complicated."

"How could you let that happen? If it's so dangerous? How could you even _do _that_?_" His eyes burned with blame that I guessed were meant more for Edward than for Ellie or me, but I couldn't contain my irritation at the underlying accusations.

Before Ellie could stop me, I fired back. "How could we do _what_ Charlie? Hell, we didn't even think it was possible – we were together for years without so much as a scare."

"Chris," Ellie breathed, squeezing my hand. "It's okay." Renesmee shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Ellie turned back to address Charlie again, but Carlisle cut in before she could speak.

"Charlie, Christopher is right, in that we really didn't whether it was even possible for a half-vampire female to conceive. But when Alice _did_ see it happening, there wasn't anything that could really be done to stop it. We had every reason to believe that Ellie would be fine – and in fact her system handled the pregnancy and the delivery itself beautifully." He paused and smiled at his daughter. "We had very little warning that anything would be amiss after the fact. As it turned out, the complication that led to Ellie's change is something that happens in human women, and unfortunately the prognosis is often dire."

Charlie's gaze returned briefly to Renesmee, and I wondered if that was the source of his ire. He was terrified now of losing his only granddaughter. Ellie nodded almost imperceptibly; I knew she was confirming my theory. I felt a twinge of remorse for my outburst. She squeezed my hand again.

"Charlie," Carlisle spoke again. "What happened in Ellie's case was highly unusual. We have every reason to believe that it was essentially a fluke."

Bella turned slightly to face her father. "Dad," she said softly. "Why don't we take a break? Are you hungry? I can make you breakfast."

Charlie sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Uh, sure Bells. That sounds good." Bella took his hand and led him to the kitchen. I could hear a scraping sound as Charlie pulled back one of the stools in front of the wide counter to sit down while Bella cooked. Sue stayed seated, turning to face Carlisle and Esme.

"Carlisle, Esme. Thank you for speaking with him this morning. Thank you all," she added, glancing toward the rest of us. "He's very overwhelmed by everything. I'm not sure if he regrets asking me now or not."

Edward cleared his throat. "He doesn't, at least I don't think so. Now that he understands what happened before Bella changed, he's just worried about what all of this means. For Nessie…and now Leah."

She smiled slightly toward Edward and nodded her head. She opened her mouth to speak, but hesitated for a moment.

"Leah tells me she had a lovely conversation with your Nathaniel," she said, addressing Ellie and me. She shook her head skeptically. "Please forgive me, I'm still in shock at how quickly everything has changed for her."

I didn't say anything, still slightly irritated by Charlie's comments from a few minutes ago. Ellie squeezed my hand again and answered her. "We understand, Sue. Take all the time you need. It's going to be an adjustment for everyone I think. I will say, though, that Nathaniel is absolutely smitten with Leah."

Sue let out a quick laugh at this. "He is a charming child."

"Thank you." Ellie said with a smile. As Sue got up to head to the kitchen with her husband, Ellie turned to face me. "Chris, let's take a walk." I stood, following her out the front door, running after her as she took off into the trees.

After a few miles she slowed to a stop. "I'm sorry," I said immediately, wrapping my arms around her waist and pulling her to me. "I shouldn't have lost my temper with him."

"Shh," she murmured, kissing my cheek. "It's okay. I know that topic is hard for you. It wasn't really fun for me either, but Charlie is trying to process a whole new world of weirdness right now."

"I know. It's just the way he was looking at you…like what happened was your _fault_." I growled in frustration, tangling my fingers in her hair and pulling her head back against my chest.

We stood quietly for a while. "Hey," I said suddenly. "What was it you and Edward were talking about earlier? You said you would tell me later."

"Oh, yeah. That's a whole other complication. Apparently, before any of this craziness even happened, Charlie was planning to talk to Bella about Renee."

Bella hadn't seen her mother for years, not wanting to risk Renee guessing too much about Bella's transformation. She had limited contact through emails and letters and very rare phone calls, but even that had diminished significantly since we moved east. Bella had even mislead Renee about our current location – telling her that she and Edward had moved to Wisconsin rather than to New Hampshire. The letters Renee mailed to their false Wisconsin address were forwarded to them here.

"What about her?" I asked warily.

"She's been calling Charlie over the last couple of months, trying to find out about Bella. Charlie has had to lie to her more often than not, obviously. He thinks that Renee has figured out that Bella and Edward are not in Wisconsin. Charlie thinks that they need to tell her something…final."

"She will need to fake her death."

Ellie pulled her head back and looked up at my face. "Yes. Edward hasn't brought this up to Bella yet, but Charlie has already told Bella that they need to talk about her mother while he's here. I'm guessing Bella has an idea what's coming."

I exhaled a long, slow breath. "Anything else I need to know?"

Ellie laughed. "Not that I'm aware of. I think I'm ready to swear off family holidays for a while."

"Hmm, I don't think things are going to get any calmer on the family front any time soon," I mused, tightening my arms around Ellie's waist.

"You're probably not wrong," she replied with a laugh.

I bent my head down to lightly brush my lips against hers. "Do we have to get back right away? Or do you think we have a little time to spare?"

"Mmm," she murmured. "Time to spare, definitely." She traced my lips with her tongue and left a trail of light kisses along my jaw and neck. As she hoisted herself up to wrap her legs around my waist I was very glad that she opted for the skirt she was wearing. Her breath was warm against my ear as she laughed lightly. "I thought that it might be convenient, on the off chance we managed to slip away for a few minutes today."

I kissed her hungrily and her hands tangled in my hair; her thighs tightened against my sides. I grabbed her ass with my hands to pull her even closer to me, backing her up against an old tree to better leverage my position against her body. I slipped one hand between her legs, shoving aside the thin fabric and stroking her slowly with my fingers. She grunted against my lips as I pushed into her. I used my other hand to slip under her sweater and her bra, kneading her breast roughly.

She removed one of her hands from my hair, using it to pull open my belt and pants. I moved my hips back from hers ever so slightly so she could touch me, groaning as she wrapped her fingers around me. Her hand slid easily over my cock as she spread the liquid that had already started to leak from me.

"Oh," she moaned softly. "You know what this reminds me of?"

"What baby?" I whispered, rubbing the heel of my hand against her clit.

"Uhh, _fuck_. It reminds me of the first time. When you fucked me against the door of your office," she panted.

"_Jesus_, Ellie," I groaned as her memories flooded my mind, mixing with my own. She had been ready to beg me to take her when I wondered if I should stop myself. I ripped her panties down and thrust into her as she hit me with her memory of hard she came as I held her against the office door. Of course, I would never forget how many times I made her moan my name that day.

She reached above her head and grabbed the wide tree trunk I had her pinned against now, bracing herself as I grabbed her hips and began pounding into her. I forced my eyes open to watch her. Her head thrashed wildly back and forth against the tree, which shook violently with each thrust.

"Ellie, I need you to come, baby," I gasped, wanting to hold out for her. "Please."

"Oh baby, I'm so close," she moaned. I pushed further into her she grunted wildly, fighting against my grip on her hips to move against me. I shifted my hands to her legs, and she writhed forcefully against me, coming suddenly with a feral cry. She spasmed around me and I exploded, crashing her against the tree once more. As our bodies calmed, she held me against her, not allowing me to move, her fingers digging into my skin as she panted in my ear.

I rested my head on her shoulder, shivering slightly as her fingers began to weave through my hair, scratching my scalp. She laughed softly, her body shaking beneath me.

"What?" I asked.

"I thought you were going to take out this tree," she said, giggling again.

"Me too," I chuckled. "If a tree falls in the forest…"

"Will the two vampires fucking against it hear it fall?"

This made us both laugh loudly. After a moment or two of quiet, she sighed. "As much as I hate to say this, we need to go." I nodded and we disentangled ourselves reluctantly. We started to make our way back toward the house; stopping only so Ellie could hunt quickly. When she finished with the deer she found, I held my arms out to her and she walked back over to me, allowing me to embrace her.

"When we get back let's call Frederick," she said into my chest as I hugged her. "I miss Nathaniel."

"Me too," I agreed. "Come on, let's get going."

As we neared the house, we slowed to a walk. With one arm around Ellie's shoulders, I reached into my pocked with my other hand, pulling out my cell phone to dial Frederick, who answered right away and agreed to bring Nathaniel back as soon as he finished his lunch.

When I hung up, Ellie was staring at me incredulously. "He got Nathaniel to eat lunch? Without a fight?"

I shrugged. "Guess so."

"Impressive." She took my hand and pulled me toward the back door. We found Emmett sitting at the kitchen table, reading the paper. Ellie snickered slightly at the image.

"Hello to you too, Eleanor," Emmett said gruffly. He looked up at us and grinned. "You two look like you had fun."

Ellie raised her eyebrow at him, but did not comment further.

"What's that? No snappy comment, little sis? Did hubs here not meet your expectations?"

"Oh for Christ's sake, Emmett," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Aw, Emmett, what's wrong?" Ellie cooed. "Jealous? Did you and Rose _not _have fun earlier?"

Emmett glared at Ellie and she laughed, shrugging. "Sorry dude. Tough break."

Jasper appeared in the doorway to the kitchen. "Chris, Em – I've talked Charlie, Seth, and Jacob into coming downstairs for some Madden. You want in?"

I glanced over to Ellie and she smiled, shoving me toward her brother. "Go, have fun. No fighting, you will scare the human."

"Nah, Charlie's tough," Emmett said as he pushed away from the table. "Come on Chris, I'm going to whoop your ass."

"You wish, man."

As the three of us traipsed down the stairs, we heard Jake stomping down behind us. "All of you bloodsuckers are toast," he taunted. Charlie and Seth were already downstairs, and I saw Charlie's eyes widen at Jacob's comment.

"Bloodsuckers…" he muttered, shaking his head.

Seth laughed. "Jake's term of endearment for his in-lawed vampires." He clapped Charlie on the shoulder. "Come on, Charlie, have a seat."

Charlie laughed, loosening up a little as he sat down next to Seth, who faced off with Jacob and Jasper first. I sat down on arm of the sofa next to Charlie.

"Charlie," I said, gaining his attention. "Sorry, I got a little heated earlier."

Charlie shrugged. "Don't worry about it. I was the one pushing the issue. It's all just…" He trailed off, not finishing his thought.

"Yeah, I know," I said.

* * *

A couple of hours later, after Esme ensured that all of the humans had been sufficiently fed, she called us all upstairs, directing us outside to start getting the fire pit ready. As Emmett and I worked to prepare to light the blaze, I saw Nahuel and Tanya appear through the trees – they had been absent most of the day. They walked arm-in-arm, not speaking, but not exuding the tension that appeared to plague them before.

The rest of the family drifted toward the backyard as the sun set behind the heavy clouds. Nathaniel, no doubt unlike most other children on Christmas Eve, had remained fiercely hopeful that it _not_ snow tonight, as he knew that would mean that Ellie and I would insist he sleep indoors. So far, the skies and ground remained dry. I set him to work securing the space where we would sit later, and he unrolled his heavy sleeping bag in front of the space he had selected for the three of us.

I shifted another set of logs onto the pile and moved back so Jasper could begin to light the fire. I could hear Ellie and Esme moving through the house, and a second later saw them walk out the door, huddled together laughing quietly together at something. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Nahuel break from Tanya, after kissing her cheek, and walk quickly across the lawn, asking to speak with my wife. I turned away, trying not to be nosy, but I couldn't help but over hear their conversation.

"Ellie, may we speak for a moment?"

"Um, sure Nahuel," she answered hesitantly. I could hear her take a seat on the steps, and he followed suit as Esme quietly excused herself to speak with Frederick.

"I just wanted to…apologize. For what happened this summer," he said. "Tanya told me everything."

Ellie sighed. "Listen, don't be angry with her. She only agreed-" She stopped suddenly. I looked back and could see his finger on her lips. I saw her turn her head away quickly, and felt a shoulder knock into me.

"She's fine, Christopher," Edward whispered.

I aimed a shove back at him, missing of course. I turned back toward the fire but could still hear them speaking.

"Ellie, I'm not angry with anyone. Well, not _now_. Tanya explained everything. I understand, and I regret putting you in that position in the first place."

"Good," she said quietly. I could imagine her smiling, relieved, as she spoke. "I always figured she would tell you, at some point. I knew that, one way or another, it wouldn't matter forever. I am sorry that I couldn't find out more about your sisters, Nahuel."

He shrugged. "They will turn up. It's not the first time they've made themselves scarce. Unfortunately, their affinity for Joham's lifestyle has not made them particularly discreet – so I am afraid that one day they will meet the Italians for one reason or another."

They were quiet for a moment before Ellie spoke again. "So you and Tanya…" I wished I could see her face to read her unspoken question.

"Yes," Nahuel replied simply.

"I'm glad," she replied, standing. "Merry Christmas, Nahuel."

I felt a light breeze behind me, and arms circled my waist. Ellie pressed her cheek against my back.

"Hello my nosy husband," she whispered into my sweater. I turned around to face her, flashing a sheepish grin.

"Sorry," I whispered, kissing her.

"Mm. You are forgiven," she said with a sigh, leaning up for another kiss. She stepped away from me slightly, keeping hold of my hand and scanning the backyard. "What have you done with our kid?"

I nodded toward his sleeping bag, where he sat. Leah sat beside him. "Come on," I said, pulling her slightly in that direction. Instead of sitting on the giant log, I sat down on the ground with my back against it, pulling Ellie into my lap. She reached out and squeezed Nathaniel's shoulders, pulling him back slightly to kiss his head.

Leah looked back at us. "So, what typically happens at these things?"

"You're about to see, I think," Ellie said, nodding toward her father, who was standing toward the center of the group, several paces away from the fire.

He held his hands up slightly, waiting until a hush spread across the yard. "If I may?" He clasped his hands together at his chest, bowing his head. He waited for a moment while the rest of us respectfully bowed our heads as well. Carlisle was rarely overtly demonstrative of his faith, but he often spoke a few words in prayer when the family gathered at Christmas.

"Almighty God, who hast given us thy only-begotten Son to take our nature upon him, and as at this time to be born of a pure Virgin; Grant that we being regenerate, and made thy children by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed by thy Holy Spirit; through the same our Lord Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the same Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen_._"***

Several quiet voices repeated "Amen," around the circle.

"I wanted to take a moment to welcome all of our guests who have traveled here to celebrate this Christmas with us. I am continuously reminded of just how much I have to be thankful for in this life, and I as look around at all of you, that is never more clear than now. The Collect that I offered a moment ago came to me earlier today – it is one I remember from many, many Christmas celebrations past.

"In particular, the phrase 'thy children by adoption and grace,' stood out to me, this year as much as others before it. I look around here at the faces of my family, my children and grandchildren, and I am forever grateful and undeserving to have been given these tremendous gifts. We are equally blessed to have our friends and extended family with us here as well – I believe I can speak for everyone when I say that we are thankful for each of you in our lives."

He laughed when he saw Emmett mockingly pretending to wipe tears from his eyes, raising his hands as if in surrender. "All right, all right, I will stop now. Merry Christmas, everyone."

A gentle murmur spread through the group as conversations resumed. A little while later, Ellie and I sat quietly, watching Nathaniel doze after he buried himself in his thick sleep bag. When he finally fell asleep, Leah smiled to us quickly and got up and walked over to sit beside her brother. Ellie shifted away from me to sit on the tree trunk behind us, and I moved to sit beside her. Carlisle walked over a few minutes later.

"May I sit?"

"Of course, Daddy," Ellie said with a smile. She leaned her head on his shoulder as he sat down on her other side. A moment later, Edward sat down on Carlisle's right after Bella had slipped away for a moment to speak with Charlie and Sue.

I looked over when Ellie laughed softly at something unsaid. Carlisle reached one arm over each of his children on either side of him, pulling them both closer for a moment. Esme appeared behind them at that moment, placing a hand on Edward and Ellie's shoulders. "You two," Carlisle said quietly, "are our bookends. Our oldest and our youngest – such different lives with such strong parallels."

"Daddy," Ellie whined. "What's with all the sentimental?" She and Edward simultaneously twisted out of Carlisle's hold. He laughed.

"This has been a challenging year, Eleanor. I know you know that as well as anyone here." She nodded, but before she could say anything, Jacob and Renesmee stood up in the middle of the group. Gradually, everyone quieted down as we waited for someone to speak.

"Hey, everyone. We will be quick, but we just wanted to tell you something," Jacob paused and took a deep breath.

Renesmee bounced slightly beside her husband, apparently too impatient to wait for him to finish his thought. "I'm pregnant!"

* * *

***From the Collects of the Common Book of Prayer of the Church of England.


	18. Responsibilities

**A/N: Just a warning – there is a POV shift in this chapter.**

* * *

Chapter 17. Responsibilities.

* * *

Stunned silence echoed throughout the yard for a half-second. Edward and Bella rushed to their daughter – Edward moved so quickly he practically disappeared, but I could hear wind rush past as he flew by.

"Daddy," Ellie whispered. "Did you know?"

I glanced over to Carlisle in time to see him nod. "She and Jake spoke with me a couple of days ago. They wanted to tell everyone at once."

Ellie nodded absently, her eyes shifting forward, focusing on Edward, Bella and Nessie. "Edward is freaking out," she said quietly as Nessie reached out to touch her father's cheek. "She's trying to calm him down." She laughed once. "Fair warning Daddy – he heard me ask you if you knew. Sorry about that."

Carlisle shook his head. "I fully expect him to be upset with me for that," he said with a shrug. "It will be fine. It wasn't my news to share." Esme walked around and sat down on Carlisle's lap, linking her arms around his neck.

"Edward will just have to get over it," she said, smiling and kissing Carlisle's cheek. "Just look at Nessie and Jacob. They are completely overjoyed. I am a little disappointed, however," she added, poking Carlisle's chest, "that you didn't warn me that I was going to be a _great_-grandmother."

Carlisle chucked and ruffled her hair a little, glancing back up. Edward and Nessie were still engaged in a nearly silent exchange – I could hear Edward whispering quietly to her, but suddenly the tension left his expression and he grabbed his daughter and wife into a hug.

"Easy, Dad," Nessie squeaked after a minute, struggling to break free. "Need air, please."

Edward reluctantly let Nessie slip from his embrace, but she was quickly claimed next by Charlie, who placed his hands firmly on his granddaughter's shoulders. He glared past her toward Jacob for a moment, and then looked back into Nessie's eyes.

"It's okay, Grandpa. I promise. It's going to be fine."

* * *

The next few weeks passed quickly, as a new flurry of activity took over the family. Jacob and Nessie decided they wanted to purchase a little house of their own, about halfway between Edward and Bella's and Carlisle and Esme's. With Esme's help they found a suitable house quickly, and settled shortly after, allowing Esme to quickly set to work on the new baby's nursery, much like she had done before Nathaniel was born.

Nessie took to pregnancy beautifully, and by now even Edward had managed to relax a little. Alice, however, could not see the infant as she had with Nathaniel. It wasn't until after Nessie and Jacob announced the pregnancy that she realized it wasn't the added presence of Seth and Leah that was screwing with her visions but the vampire/human/wolf hybrid child now growing in Renesmee's womb.

"Don't worry so much Alice," Nessie said, smiling up at her aunt from the sofa in Carlisle and Esme's living room one afternoon. She stood up from the couch and stretched, grinning over at Jacob. "Man. I really wish I could go hunt."

"No!" Jacob, Edward, Carlisle and I all said at once.

Nessie held her hands up. "Okay. Okay. I know. Lighten up, everyone." She held her hand out to Jacob, who was beside her in an instant, holding her hand in his and placing his free hand on her stomach. "Can we at least take a walk? I need to move."

"Of course," he said, kissing her once. "Come on." As he lead her toward the back door, Ellie and Bella appeared from the kitchen.

"Where did you disappear to?" I asked her as she linked her arm through mine.

She shrugged, her face impassive. "We were just outside." Edward looked over at her suspiciously, but Bella distracted him with her own greeting. "We should get upstairs and get changed, Chris," Ellie said, recapturing my attention.

"After you, Mrs. Dawling," I said, kissing her once and gesturing for her to go ahead of me. She smiled and took my hand as we walked up the stairs. We had plans this evening to hear Yo-Yo Ma perform at the Boston Symphony Hall. Ellie gave me the tickets for Christmas.

Leah – who, as expected, had decided to stay east for the time being when Charlie, Sue and Seth left after New Year's – had already taken Nathaniel back to our house to watch him for the evening. After the concert, Ellie and I planned to spend the remainder of the night at home in Boston before returning to pick up Nathaniel in the morning.

Ellie closed the bedroom door behind us and nodded toward the closets. "There's a new suit for you in your closet." She grinned. "I know you hardly need another one, but Alice saw you in this when I bought the tickets. She insisted that I would thank her."

"Well who am I to argue with that?" I said, pulling the black three-piece suit from the garment bag. I changed quickly and ducked into the bathroom to check my hair. When I walked back out to grab my shoes, I saw Ellie slipping into a short, black, cocktail dress. She bent down to put on her shoes and an involuntary hiss slipped between my teeth as I realized she was wearing the ridiculously high stiletto's she wore in Volterra. I moved to stand behind her, zipping her up and then placing my hands on her hips.

"Your legs looking fucking incredible," I whispered in her ear. She turned around, slipping her arms beneath my suit jacket as she wrapped them around my waist.

"Thank you," she said with a grin before reaching up to kiss me. "Mmm," she murmured, pulling back and looking me over. "Alice was dead on, of course. Damn. I do love you in a suit."

"We need to get of here soon or we will never make it there in time," I said, shaking my head.

Two hours later, we were back in the city, walking hand-in-hand toward Symphony Hall. I tucked her under my arm as we came to a stop on the corner of a busy intersection, waiting for traffic to clear so we could cross. With my free hand, I gently stroked her cheek, kissing her lips once.

"You've been very quiet," I murmured. She'd hardly spoken on the drive down.

"Sorry," she said as we started to walk again.

"No need to apologize. Is everything all right?"

She kept her eyes trained forward, nodding slightly. "I'm fine. It's just been a busy week." Ellie had started her classes a few weeks ago, and she spent several evenings a week now on campus. I knew she was feeling somewhat conflicted because as much as she was enjoying being back in school, she was struggling with missing so much time in the evenings with Nathaniel. This week had been particularly unusual – she had two different group projects to work on, so she stayed in Boston the previous two nights, while Nathaniel and I were in New Hampshire so she could focus on her work. Esme had taken advantage of this, putting me to work helping finish the nursery in Nessie and Jacob's house.

She smiled up at me then. "I've been looking forward to this, you know."

"As have I," I replied, taking hold of her hand and bringing it to my lips. "I plan to thank you thoroughly later."

Her eyes darkened slightly and she let out a long breath. "I can guarantee you will be very welcome."

When we reached the steps to the main entrance of the hall, I stopped for a moment and pulled her back to me. I reached under her coat to put my hand on her hip, cupping her face with my other hand.

"You are going to love this, I think," I murmured, kissing her. She sighed and relaxed slightly, pressing herself against me.

"I'm sure you are right, professor," she said with a grin. I chuckled and kissed her again, groaning quietly when she maneuvered away from me. "People are watching, Chris."

"So?"

She laughed. "_So_ the show is supposed to be inside the hall. Not out on the front steps." She tugged on the front of my coat. "Come on."

"Oh fine," I agreed with a dramatic sigh. We walked in hand-in-hand, stopping to check our coats. Ellie gave our tickets to the usher, who led us down the aisle to our seats. I glanced over to her with my eyebrow raised after we sat. The seats she had purchased were almost in exactly the same place I had been seated the last time I saw a performance here, some fifty years prior.

"What?" she asked innocently.

I chuckled, leaning in to kiss her cheek. "Nothing. I love you."

"I love you, too." She leaned her head against my shoulder. "I miss you too, you know," she added softly. "I know I've been spoiled since we left Dartmouth – and I know this sounds ridiculous – but I feel kind of out-of-sorts having an actual schedule again."

I chuckled softly and kissed her head. "I know. It's been a little strange for me as well, but we'll adjust. You're enjoying your classes?"

"Absolutely," she answered enthusiastically, but before she could say more the lights went down, signaling that the concert was about to begin.

I watched her as the music filled the concert hall. She crossed her legs toward me, leaning forward with her hand on my leg. I watched her as I listened; mesmerized by the way the music so clearly moved her. When the lights came back up for intermission, she leaned back against her chair, smiling over to me.

"You were staring at me the whole time," she said with a quiet laugh.

"Mm. You noticed that, did you?" I whispered, leaning in to kiss her neck.

"I did," she whispered, leaning into me. "So did about fifteen other people."

I shrugged. "I'm quite sure that they couldn't blame me." She laughed again, linking her fingers through mine. We were mostly alone in our section now; the humans around us had gotten up to take advantage of the break in the performance. "What did you think?"

"It was incredible," she answered, glancing back to the stage with a contemplative smile. She looked around us quickly, before flashing her eyes back to my face. "So, I feel like I'm out of the loop at home, lately. How were things this week? I talked to Nessie some this morning when you were taking Nathaniel and Leah back to our house, she seems to be feeling well."

I nodded, kissing her hand. "She's been fine. I think she's a little sick of everyone hovering, though."

Ellie giggled. "I can't imagine how that feels. It's nice to be one of the hoverers for a change, rather than the hover_ee_."

"Ha, I bet it is," I agreed.

"Ness thinks it's a girl," she added. "To which Bella commented that must mean it's a boy."

"Jacob said that as well, when we were working on the house." It still surprised me how calm Jake was about the pregnancy. I remembered his anxiety when Ellie and I first confirmed that she was expecting Nathaniel; and that was before there was any reason to fear the complications that plagued her after delivery. I wondered to myself if Jasper had anything to do with his tranquil demeanor.

"No, it's not Jazz," she commented. "Though Bella had him keeping tabs on Edward for a while." She shook her head. "No, I think it's more that Jacob really has…faith, I guess? In the pull of the imprint, I mean. Remember what Carlisle said about Leah and Nathaniel – how he thinks that the imprint wouldn't happen unless the pair was truly compatible?"

I nodded.

"I think he really believes that. And Nessie believes it, so by his very nature he's sort of compelled to go along with it anyway."

"Huh," I mumbled. "Interesting."

"Yeah. Bella and I were talking about that a bit earlier."

"Hey, that reminds me," I said suddenly at her mention of Bella. "What was the deal with you two earlier? I don't remember hearing you two talking and Edward looked really confused."

"Ah, yeah." Ellie grimaced a bit. "We weren't really speaking out loud. At least not the whole time, anyway."

My eyebrows shot up. It was unlike Bella to hide things from Edward. "Oh? Can you tell me what it was about?"

"Yeah. I was going to bring it up later, actually." Ellie bit her lip. "Bella asked for my help with something. It might actually be easier to explain, um…" She gestured between us slightly, wordlessly asking my permission to show me her memory of the conversation.

I nodded, and she looked toward the stage, her eyes losing focus. I looked away from her so as to not draw attention to her distraction and I felt her thoughts reach my own.

Bella and Ellie sat amid the trees, just beyond Carlisle and Esme's yard. Bella bit her lip, squinting a bit as she looked to Ellie.

"Um, Ellie. I need to ask a favor."

"Sure, Bella. What's up?"

"Do you mind, actually…?" Bella indicated her request with a gesture similar gesture to the one Ellie had just made to me. Ellie nodded.

_Thanks, _Bella thought. _Listen. I'm sure you heard this at Christmas, but Charlie has been harping on me to deal with Renee. She's…asking question. A lot of questions, apparently._

_Yeah, _Ellie confirmed. _I picked that up in Edward's thoughts at one point. It didn't seem like you guys had talked about it yet at that point._

_Well, we haven't really yet, actually. Other than he wasn't surprised when I mentioned that Charlie brought it up to me. _

Ellie didn't respond at first; instead watching Bella intently. _So what are you thinking, exactly? What do you need from me?_

Bella smiled slightly. _Well. I was thinking about how complicated it would be…you know, faking my death. There's so many of us, and since I'm leaving behind family – there would have to be arrangements and services and all kinds of things to make it seem _real. _Right? _She looked to Ellie for validation.

Ellie sighed. _Keep in mind, Bella; I've never had to do this. Nor have I actually seen it done for anyone in the family. But you're right, of course. From what I know of everyone else's experiences, it was far less complicated in that way. The circumstances leading up to each of their respective changes led easily to the conclusion that they just died and there was little need to corroborate that with anything too complex._

Bella nodded. _Exactly. _She sighed. _I know what I signed on for. I _know_ I have to do my part. But the thought of putting my mother through all of that... Not to mention Charlie. Even though he would know it wasn't for real – he would have to keep up that charade through all of it. I just…I just can't imagine that. Plus she's already getting curious. My dropping dead right now might just spur her on. _

Bella looked at Ellie. _So…this is kind of where you come in, Ellie. I was thinking that maybe there's a way to spare my mom that trauma._

The light went on in Ellie's mind – she understood suddenly what Bella was asking. _You want me to make her believe you're…dead?_

My mind cleared as Ellie closed off the connection between us. People had started to stream back into the hall and retake their seats. I knew the house lights would flash soon giving everyone the final warning to return before being barred from entry. I stared at Ellie, measuring her expression.

"You've agreed?"

She nodded.

"When?" I whispered.

"Soon, I think." She sighed. "We haven't worked out all the details. But I know she wants to take care of this quickly. I think her plan is that the two of us will fly out, see her – and Phil, obviously – and be back in a day or two."

I made a face. I didn't like the idea of Ellie traveling so far without me.

"I know," she said, squeezing my hand. "But it will be a quick trip. I would feel better if you stayed with Nathaniel. And of course, Bella wants Edward to stay with Renesmee. Which I'm sure will go over fantastically."

I took her hand in both of mine, rubbing her palm gently with my thumbs. "So," I whispered. "Are you sure about this?" I knew well her hesitance to use her gift, particularly with humans.

She smiled and kissed my cheek. "More or less. I know I can do it, and Bella is right – it will be easier than the alternative."

Before I could respond, the lights came down over the hall and performance resumed. I held my arm out and she leaned against my shoulder, sighing as she listened to the music.

#####

* * *

ELLIE'S POV

######

The following Friday, Bella and I were getting ready for our flight to Jacksonville. "Got everything you need?" Christopher asked quietly, standing in the doorway of our room at my parents' house.

I zipped up my bag and turned to face him. "I think so. Nathaniel helped me pack earlier." I glanced to my left, listening automatically to Edward and Bella's heated whispers downstairs. Edward was still arguing that the two of us shouldn't go alone. Now he was suggesting that I might lose my control and Bella wouldn't be able to handle me. "Jesus, Edward," I muttered.

"What?" Chris asked. Before I could answer, he was standing right in front of me, his hands on my arms. "What's wrong?"

I shook my head. "Nothing. Edward is being ridiculous. He thinks I'm going to try and eat someone on the plane."

Christopher sighed and rolled his eyes, leaning in to kiss my forehead. "Ignore him."

I grinned. "I usually do."

Several hours later, we were circling over Jacksonville International. Bella had hardly said a word since we left the house, and I left her to her thoughts. Our flight had been delayed by weather, so by the time we landed it was nearly midnight. We walked silently through the airport to pick up our rental car. We sped along 95 until we reached the exit for a Holiday Inn not far from Renee and Phil's house.

I pulled into a parking space and cut the engine, looking over to Bella. "You okay?"

She sighed and bit her lip, staring out the windshield. "I guess. Tomorrow I see my mom for the last time." She shook her head. "I had no idea how much I was dreading this day until now."

"I'm sorry, Bella," I said simply. I didn't know what else to say.

She smiled half-heartedly to me before reaching for the door handle. "Thanks Ellie. I really appreciate your help, you know."

"I know," I replied. "Come on. I bet we can find some awesomely lame movies to watch on the pay-per-view."

Bella laughed and got out of the car, grabbing her bag. When we got to the check-in counter, the man hardly looked up from his computer screen when he asked for our name – he'd been half asleep when we walked in. When he finally looked up, he nearly fell off his chair.

"Reservation for Eleanor Masen," I said, trying to choke back a laugh. Edward, Carlisle, and Jasper all agreed that we should use alternate surnames to be safe, just in case someone else was investigating Renee's questions and I missed that information while we were here. We were both traveling as Masens; I had taken the liberty of making the hotel and car reservations for the trip to make it easier for Bella.

After we checked in, we watched some cheesy chick-flicks until the sky started to lighten. Alice had predicted that the cloud cover would be sufficient for the duration of our stay, which was crucial. Bella and I had decided that this morning, after I dropped her off to see Renee, I would meet Phil outside of his team's practice facilities. As planned, a few hours later I pulled onto her mother's street, parking a few houses down.

"Are you sure, Bella? I can go in with you, and deal with Phil when he comes home."

She shook her head. "I need to see her. I will call you if…anything goes wrong." She grabbed my hand. "Really, Ellie. It will be fine. I need this time with my mom." She squeezed my fingers. "Thank you so much for coming here with me."

"Of course, Bella. I will be back in an hour or two, okay? If you need _any_thing-"

"I will call you," she answered swiftly. "I promise."

With that, she was gone, and I was headed to meet Phil. I parked the car away from the cluster of cars that belonged to players and coaches streaming into the facility for pre-season workouts. I pulled my hair back into a ponytail and put on a baseball cap before exiting the car. I walked toward the building, finding a semi-darkened corner where I could stand and watch for Phil. I'd only met him once – at Edward and Bella's wedding – so I couldn't easily get a read on his mind without being near him. I saw him approach and thanked my good luck that he wasn't walking with anyone else.

"Excuse me, Phil?" I said, fixing my friendliest expression as I stepped out from the shadows. He stopped, startled by the unexpected greeting.

"I'm sorry," he said, sounding flustered. "Do I know you?"

He squinted as he looked at my face, which was partially obscured by the brim of the cap. I stepped backward into the shadow, removing the hat as he followed.

"Sort of. I'm Ellie. Bella's sister-in-law," I said slowly. "We met once."

"Bella," he whispered. "My god. Renee. She's been-"

"I know," I interrupted. "That's why I need to speak with you." I reached out and took Phil's face between my hands. He didn't struggle against my hold. "Phil, I'm sorry that I have to do this," I whispered, before showing him what I planned to show Renee later. As I filtered through his memories, something I saw in nearly derailed my efforts entirely. I struggled to keep my focus to finish what I'd come there to do and gasped, "When I walk away, you will forget this conversation. Nod if you understand."

I released him, and he nodded.

"Good. You can go now."

As he walked away, I immediately grabbed my phone and hit the speed dial.

"Edward," I whispered. "I need your advice."

* * *

Reviews please!


	19. Miss You

"All right Nathaniel," I said to my son as I snapped a deck of cards against the table. "What's your game?"

He thought quietly for a moment before arching his brow and flashing a cheeky grin. "Texas Hold 'Em."

I laughed incredulously. "Who taught you that?"

"Jasper," he answered, sticking out his chin.

"Of course." I chuckled again and shot a look over toward Jasper, who was sitting in the chair in the far corner of the room, reading.

"It's not as if he'd be entertained with Go Fish, Christopher," Jasper reasoned without looking up from the page. "Think of it as strategy lessons."

"He promised to teach me Baccarat next," Nathaniel added.

"Wonderful." I rolled my eyes. "For your second birthday Alice can go with a Casino Royale theme."

"Really?!" he chirped excitedly as Alice giggled from the other room.

"No! I'm kidding. Good lord; your mother would kill me." I set out some chips and dealt us each a hand. While he considered his bet, Edward walked over to the couch where Nessie was napping, sitting near her feet. He watched Nathaniel for a moment and shook his head.

Nathaniel slid two chips over, and I did the same before dealing out the flop.

"Have you heard from Ellie yet today, Chris?" Edward asked as I started to set out the cards.

"No, not yet. I know she was going to approach Phil early this morning though. I would imagine she will check in after that."

"As a matter of fact," Alice spoke up, "she's going to call you, Edward. In about two minutes."

"Is something wrong?" he asked. He glanced at me and then focused his attention back to Alice. "Why is everything so hazy now?"

"I'm not sure. They're still set to come back tonight, so I know they are okay. But something about her conversation with Phil seems to have made her suddenly undecided..." Alice trailed off, her eyes still out of focus. A moment later she snapped her gaze toward Edward and looked at the phone now in his hand. It hardly rang once when he put it o his ear.

"Ellie?"

"Edward, I need your advice."

"What's wrong?" he replied anxiously. "Where's Bella?"

"She's with Renee. I'm sure she's fine. She would call me otherwise. Anyway, I just saw Phil."

"Did something go wrong?"

"Not exactly. Everything is fine with him. I had no trouble with his memories. But there was something else I saw. I know why Renee has suddenly started trying to figure out what's going on with Bella."

I turned away from the card game as I listened to the conversation. Even Nathaniel's eyes were focused seriously on his uncle.

"Edward," Ellie continued, stress clear in her voice even over the phone. "She's sick. Really sick, I think. They found out a few months ago."

Edward sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose and leaning his head back on the couch.

"Damn it. I knew I should have come with you."

"Is she going to tell Mom?" Renesmee said quietly, having just woken up from her nap. Her fingers fluttered anxiously against her stomach and Edward reached over to put his free hand on her shoulder.

"That's my question," Ellie said through the phone. "What do I do? I can't _not_ tell her..."

"No, you can't," Edward agreed. "I would call her but if she's with Renee now..."

Ellie was quiet on the other end. I imagined her chewing her lip while she thought. "Let me get over there. I will figure something out. I guess Alice can't see...?"

Edward glanced up to confirm this. "No. Nothing specific to this anything."

"Okay. I'm heading back over there now. Tell Chris and Nathaniel I will check in again later, and hopefully we will be back tonight."

With that the call ended. "Damn it," Edward said again. "I should have taken care of this for her years ago."

"Dad, don't do that. At least mom' s getting another chance to see her," Nessie said soothingly. "And it's not as if she would let you do this for her."

Sensing my distraction, Jasper walked over to us, holding another deck of cards.

"Nathaniel," he drawled. "How about that lesson now?"

Nathaniel looked at me. "Go on," I said. "We'll play later." He smiled and hopped up from his seat, following Jasper toward the basement.

"Emmett?" Jasper called as he started down the stairs. "You want in?"

"Hell yeah!" Emmett answered from upstairs. He appeared behind Nathaniel only a moment later.

Nessie shook her head, laughing quietly. "Ellie's going to have a fit," she said.

I raised my hands, palms facing out. "Hey, I'm not the one teaching him to gamble. She can take that up with her brothers."

Edward rolled his eyes. "Good luck with that argument, Chris." He sighed again, his anxiety over the news about Renee still evident on his face.

"She'll be okay, Edward," I offered. "Ellie will do whatever she can to make this easier on Bella."

"Alice? Can you tell me anything?" he pleaded.

"I'm trying, Edward. Hang on a second. I think Ellie's trying to decide what to do; how to tell her."

"Damn it, Ellie come on," he muttered, still staring Alice.

"Dad," Nessie scolded as I stood.

Even without Jasper in the room to spread the tension, Edward's nerves were wearing on my own. I glanced over at Alice.

"You'll let me know when there's news?"

She nodded.

"Thanks," I said, walking outside to get some air. There was a new blanket of fresh snow on the ground, which muted the typical noise behind the surrounding trees. I could hear Nathaniel laughing downstairs at Emmett and Jasper. I sat down on the back steps, glancing at my watch. It was only noon, and Alice had already seen that Ellie and Bella wouldn't be home until tomorrow.

I really wasn't any happier than Edward about being left at home, not that I could really have helped either of our wives in the completion of their mission. But the distance made me anxious, and if Edward didn't stop moaning about Ellie's indecision I was going to knock him on his ass. I heard him snort in response to my irritated thoughts.

Approaching footsteps distracted me - Jacob appeared through the trees, dressed minimally as usual.

"Hey Chris," he said cheerfully, but his expression darkened slightly as he took registered mine. "Everything okay in there. Ness-?"

"She's fine, Jake. She just woke up from a nap a little while ago." I gave him a quick recap of Ellie's call to Edward and the conversation that followed.

"Oh shit," he said. "Bella's going to take that hard."

"Yeah."

"Don't mind Edward, he's just worried..." I laughed at Jacob's defense of his father-in-law.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing. I'm not laughing at what you said. I mean, I am, but only because you're sticking up for

Edward..."

Jake laughed this time. "I know. I never would have seen that one coming ten years ago."

"Anyway," I said, searching for a subject change. "How are you holding up?"

He shrugged. "I'm fine. Nessie's doing the hard work, isn't she?" He looked down at his hand, turning his wedding ring around on his finger. "I know it's going to be different. I do. But Edward had started talking to Carlisle about having the same back up plan in place for her. Like they did for Ellie, I mean." He grimaced.

"Yeah. Ellie mentioned that to me the other day." She had warned me earlier in the week that they were beginning to discuss contingencies, as she called it. I shook my head as I remembered the concern in her eyes. "I think she thinks I have some kind of vampire PTSD after Nathaniel's birth. She's very...protective of me when the subject comes up. She told me she didn't want me to be surprised that they were already making plans for Ness. God forbid they should be needed, of course."

Jacob snorted. "She really is related to Edward, isn't she?" The humor disappeared from his face as he sighed and looked away. "They won't need to do that to her." Though his words were almost whispered, there was no mistaking the timbre of the Alpha as he spoke. He cleared his throat and shook his head. "I should go check on her." He clapped his hand on my shoulder as he stood up. "Don't worry. Ellie and Bella will be fine."

* * *

Later that night, after Nathaniel was fast asleep in his room, I stretched out on our bed with my arms crossed behind my head. Alice had finally been able to solidify her visions enough to update us on Ellie and Bella's status. She told us they were heading back to the hotel soon, and were scheduled to get the first flight out in them morning. They would be home in twelve hours, and she would call me in less than two.

Alice didn't speak out loud about how Bella handled the news about her mother's condition, but I could guess from the pained look on Edward's face. Even through Ellie's car - which we'd finally shipped out from Washington a few weeks prior - was at the airport. We both planned to meet our wives when they landed and we would leave separately.

I waited impatiently for Ellie's call, staring at the ceiling in our darkened bedroom. My mind wandered back to the night we went to Symphony Hall. I laughed to myself as I remembered how she called me out on staring at her for the entire first half of the performance. I had tried to concentrate my focus toward the performers in front of us after that, but I wasn't entirely successful.

"You seemed a little worked up there earlier," she whispered to me later, after we returned home. She reached her arms behind my neck and slowly brought her lips to mine, leaving just a whisper of a kiss. My hands grabbed her waist, urging her closer.

"I think I might still be," I replied, my lips against her ear.

"Hmm," she murmured, her hands sliding down my shoulders to the front of my jacket. "I think I can help with that." She removed the jacket and leaned in to kiss me as she reached up to loosen my tie. This kiss was heated; her lips moving firmly, her tongue lightly teasing at the opening of my mouth, but not quite pushing in. She stepped back from me suddenly, and I groaned in response to the unwelcome space between us.

"Just a minute," she whispered with a coy smile. She reached behind her to the back of her dress, her eyes watching me as she slowly pulled the zipper down.

"Ellie." My voice was hoarse.

"Problem sweetheart?"

"You're teasing me." I was trying to sound reproachful, but it came out like a whine. She giggled.

"Very good, professor." She pulled the dress from her shoulders, revealing the thin black straps of the bra beneath it. She let the dress drop, standing still for a few seconds as I took in the sight of her in the skimpy black lace. She stepped away from the discarded garment, standing in front of me again, though still farther away than I wanted. She smiled and closed the distance, grabbing my face and pulling it back toward hers.

I grabbed her hips, pulling her body tightly against mine, my right hand sliding down to grab her ass. I slipped my fingers under the flimsy fabric, stroking the skin beneath. I moaned into her mouth; she was soaked.

"Uhh," she whimpered. "Not yet, baby." She reached for my belt and had it off in a half second, dropping slowly to her knees as she moved my pants and boxers down. She wrapped her hands around my erection, stroking me slowly before placing her lips to the tip, sucking lightly and dragging her tongue over me.

I couldn't make a sound, other than my ragged breathing, as she moved one hand to cup my balls and slowly took my into her mouth. She put her left hand on my hip, preventing me from thrusting too vigorously, knowing that she could draw out my torture that way.

"Ellie," I groaned. "Please baby. Faster." She dragged her teeth along my shaft in response, plunging back over me. "Oh shit," I gasped. I started to move in her harder, overcoming her hold on me. She moaned happily as I pushed back into her throat. As she massaged my balls she reached back and pressed her fingertips against the space behind them, causing me to cry pt and bend over slightly, bracing myself with a hand on her shoulder. I pumped harder into her mouth, my cock hardening even more.

"Jesus Christ, baby. I'm going to come," I gasped and she sucked harder in response. "I'm going to- ahh, god." I grabbed her head and thrust once more into her, holding her still against me as I came. My chin dropped to my chest as I panted. She swallowed everything greedily, and slowly released me.

My memories of that evening left me breathless, and desperately missing the company of my wife. I got up from the bed, intending to find a book to attempt to better occupy my mind when the phone rang. I answered immediately.

"Ellie," I breathed.

"Hey, baby," she said. I could picture her flirty smile as she said that. "I'm sorry I didn't call earlier."

"That's okay. How are you? Did everything go okay? How's Bella?"

"It's done. Bella's fairly upset, as I'm sure you can imagine. We almost drove back tonight but I figured even without hitting any cops, we would hit rush hour in the mid Atlantic, and I was finally able to convince her that flying would ultimately be faster. Anyway, I will tell you about it all when we get back. For now, tell me about your day, please. How's Nathaniel?"

I told her about Nathaniel's new penchant for card games and she groaned. We talked for another couple of hours or so before she and Bella needed to start getting ready to head to the airport. They were planning to stop and hunt quickly along the way.

"I love you Chris. I will see you soon," she said before she hung up.

The hours passed at a painfully slow pace as the morning wore on. I was relieved when Nathaniel woke up for the day, as he would at least distract me as l waited for it to be time to leave for the airport.

Edward, Nathaniel and I stood near the baggage claim waiting for them; their plane arrived minutes before we did.

"They're coming," Edward said quietly, turning his head to the left. Nathaniel saw Ellie first and ran toward her, remembering to keep a human speed. Bella walked quickly - almost too quickly - to Edward. They hugged for a moment and then he ushered her back to their car without so much as a backward glance.

Ellie scooped Nathaniel up, and covered his face with kisses. When I caught up to them, she shifted him to her hip and reached for me, locking her hand on my neck and stretching to kiss me.

"Hey," she breathed after a moment. I pulled then both to my chest and kissed the top of her hair.

"Hey," I answered. "God, I missed you."

We found her car and she threw me her keys while she checked Nathaniel's seat. I crammed myself into the driver's seat and put the seat back as far as it would go.

"I had forgotten how cramped this thing is," I complained. She aimed a playful shove at my arm, but instead her fingers lingered for a moment before drifting over my forearm and resting lightly on my hand as I shifted the car into gear. As we drove out of the airport, I decided that instead of exiting onto the highway toward New Hampshire, I directed us back into the city.

"Are we staying in Boston tonight?" Nathaniel piped up from the back, noticing the change in our course.

"I was thinking about it," I replied, winking at Ellie before glancing back to our son. "Okay with you, kiddo?"

He nodded excitedly.

"And you?" I asked Ellie.

"Absolutely," she purred.

Later that evening, Ellie took Nathaniel upstairs to get ready for bed. While she was with him, I ran out to the store around the corner to grab a few things for Nathaniel to have breakfast the next morning. When I got back, she was sitting on the kitchen counter playing with her phone, her legs crossed and head leaned back against a cabinet door. When I walked in she smiled and put her phone next to her and both hands on the counter, leaning forward slightly.

I shoved the groceries in the refrigerator and walked over to her. She uncrossed her legs and pulled me close.

"Is he asleep?" I whispered, kissing her lips once. She cocked her head to the side, listening.

"No, he's reading. He will zonk out soon though."

She put her hands on my shoulders, pulling me back to her and kissing me hungrily. My left hand tangled in her hair as I slipped my right hand under her skirt, slowly drawing my fingers along the inside of her thighs.

"Please, Chris. I missed you so much," she gasped, scooting herself forward, closer to my touch. I pressed my fingers against the outside of her panties, feeling the moisture soaking through.

I slipped my other hand under her skirt as well and she raised herself up slightly so I could slide the obstructive fabric off of her. I pushed her skirt back and she spread her legs further so I could see her. I stroked her slowly a few times and watched her eyes roll back slightly as she moved against my hand. Very slowly I pushed one finger inside, teasing her clit with my thumb.

"More," she pleaded. "Please."

"Happily," I whispered, hastily adding two more fingers, and rubbing her clit with the heel of my palm. She whimpered, chewing her lip trying to stay quiet. While my fingers worked inside her, I unbuttoned her blouse and pulled one of her breasts out of her bra, bending down to take her nipple into my mouth, swirling my tongue over her taught peak, and sucking it through my teeth. Her fingers clawed at my back as she rubbed herself harder against my hand.

She was close, and struggling to stay quiet. I curled my fingers inside her, stroking her in a way that, had we been alone, I was confident would have had her yelling my name. I watched with satisfaction as her mouth dropped open in a silent cry as her body shook with her climax, her muscles squeezing around my fingers. When her body calmed, I slowly withdrew my hand and kissed her softly.

She dropped her hand to the front of my pants, squeezing me through my clothes. "It doesn't quite seem like we're done here," she whispered, undoing my belt.

* * *

Eventually, after we were sure Nathaniel had fallen asleep, we moved up to our room. Ellie lay quietly in my arms, a scene that would always remind me of when she used to sleep like that. She sighed.

"Sleep would be so nice," she whispered.

"It would," I said. "Though I have missed sleep much, much less since I met you."

"Mmm," she murmured, kissing my chest. "You're just saying that to get in my pants."

I let out a hard chuckle, which sounded more like a cough. "Busted."

She giggled, but quickly fell silent again.

I hugged her tightly and rubbed her back as she lay silently against my chest. "Do you want to tell me about what happened on your trip?"

"Okay," she whispered, but didn't say anything else.

"You don't have to," I backtracked, not wanting her to feel pressured, "but if you want to talk about it I'm here."

"I know. And I don't feel pressured, silly," she pressed her lips to my skin again. "I mean, all in all, it went very smoothly. I caught Phil outside of the workout facility, just like Alice said. And even later, with Renee, it wasn't a problem to falsify the memories about Bella."

She sighed. "It's just something that Bella said to me, after I told her what Phil had been thinking. She said that if Renee believes that Bella is dead – really dead – that she will be expecting her to…be there, you know, when Renee…" Ellie swallowed roughly. "I feel bad for that. For possibly putting that false hope there."

"Oh, honey," I said softly, shifting us so that we were both on her sides so I could see her face. I put my hand on her cheek, stroking her face with my thumb. "Think of the misery and worry that you have spared her, though. I know that you're still…processing what you are able to do with your abilities, Ellie, but I really think you've done a good thing here. You have given her peace of mind about Bella – something she was obviously seeking."

She smiled slightly, her eyes meeting mine. "Thanks, Chris. I just…I don't know how I feel about it all yet I guess. I was a little afraid that Bella would change her mind after I told her. I have no idea what I would have done then. She was so…resolved, though. It was almost like she knew – like she had figured that something like this must have precipitated Renee's sudden inquiries."

"Did you two talk much, after?"

Ellie reached behind my head and twirled my hair in her fingers as she thought. "Um, a little. She didn't want to go back to the hotel after we left Renee's – it reminded her too much of the trips they used to take together. That's why I didn't call you until so late last night. We parked a few blocks from the house and just kinda sat there for a while. She didn't actually say that much, and I just let her be quiet. I didn't really know what else to do for her. That's when I thought about just driving back.

"I suggested at one point that she give Edward a call, but she didn't really answer when I said that. She didn't need to talk – or rather I think she didn't _want_ to talk – but I really wish he had been there because she was clearly upset. I don't think Bella realized how much she misses her mom…"

I kissed her forehead and tucked her head under my chin. "She's grieving, sweetheart."

"Yeah," she said softly. "I know. I just wish we could have known this before, so she didn't get blindsided." She was quiet for a few minutes, before taking my face in her hands and pressing her mouth to mine. We were done talking until sunlight streamed in through the windows and Nathaniel began to stir.


End file.
